Ross Sheil, Staff Reporter
These two elderly women had to seek refuge at the St. Benedict's Church shelter during the passage of Hurricane Emily yesterday. - CARLINGTON WILMOT/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
THE RED Cross yesterday said that it was working to meet demand for supplies at shelters islandwide. Red Cross chairman for emergency and disasters Delwin Ferguson told The Sunday Gleaner that he had been in contact with the Ministry of Health to supply medication to persons suffering from conditions such as diabetes and asthma.
Ferguson was speaking at the shelter that had been set up at the St. Benedict's Primary School at Seven Miles, Bull Bay, which The Sunday Gleaner visited shortly after 11:00 a.m. yesterday. He said he was touring shelters to assess needs and organise responses. Residents in the shelter complained of an absence of food supplies and cooking facilities and a shortage of bedding and blankets.
Asked if the shelters could have been better supplied Ferguson replied: "The basic problem is that people are not listening to the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management's (ODPEM) advice and are not bringing sufficient basic supplies for themselves to last for a day. Medical supplies are a different matter as we have to get specific medication for such people and in this shelter, there are asthma sufferers."
HIGH WAVES
He said the ODPEM would be supplying food together with cots for the shelters. The shelter at St. Benedict's had some cots, but not enough for everyone. A total of 36 children and 28 adults were sheltering in the schoolhouse, said shelter manager Annette Campbell of the Kingston Red Cross. High waves had already started to lash the coastline and the roads were beginning to flood - many more persons she said, would arrive in the afternoon.
Cynthia Crawford, a 70-year-old member of the St. Benedict's congregation said she had been unable to take sufficient provisions when she went in the morning. "Of course, I am glad to be here and I thank the Lord but I want something to warm my stomach to stop myself trembling," she said.
She had taken just a pack of biscuits and a sheet and had stuffed newspaper into her sodden shoes. When asked why she was unable to be better prepared, she replied simply, "Dennis wet up my 'tings and I can't carry more than this."
Pamella Morrison, 53, from Taylor Land and her neighbour Patricia Taylor, 46, were also short of supplies. The pair said they went to the shelter after government ordered the evacuation of homes threatened by the flooding of the Chalky River. Hurricane Dennis flooded both their homes.
