Mandeville, Jamaica…[Nigel Coke/IAD Staff]
While Hurricane Dean’s fiercest winds narrowly missed the island of Jamaica, it still managed to leave a trail of damage along the southern coast of the island, killing four people. The most affected parishes include Portland, St. Thomas, St. Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester and St. Elizabeth.
Although no deaths among the church membership were reported, more than 50 church structures as well as members' homes were affected by Dean's powerful gusts and torrential rains on Aug. 19, 2007.
The church’s Northern Caribbean University located in Mandeville sustained damage to five buildings, including the men’s dormitory and its preparatory school.
Church leaders in Jamaica who remembered the punishing effects of Hurricane Ivan in 2004 were understandably anxious about the devastation that Dean might bring.
“We were somewhat apprehensive about the extent of the damage we would sustain when we heard of the impending hurricane,” said Pastor Patrick Allen, president of the church in the West Indies, “but we thank God for His protection and care during this rather frightful experience.”
According to Pastor Allen, Dean managed to take a heavy toll on the livelihood of many members in the rural communities, destroying about 90% of the crops.
“The respective departments of our church are mobilizing and already in communities assessing the impact on our members, the community at large, and our churches,” he said.
Jamaica's government selected the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) to assist in registering families in need of help. ADRA will only be involved in the registration of these families for further processing and assistance by the government.
ADRA has been and is currently distributing tarpaulin and water to the affected areas and is also in the process of completing a needs analysis and damage assessment.
“We have activated all our response systems and have been in touch with our local and international partners, several of whom have made commitment to sending relief supplies in the shortest possible time,” said Desmond Robinson, director for ADRA Jamaica. “ADRA remains committed to helping our nation and in particular those who are most deprived in the aftermath of the hurricane regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sex or political preference.”
Before pounding south Jamaica, Tropical Storm Dean rumbled into St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica and Guadeloupe to dump its torrential rains. Back in the warm open waters of the Caribbean, it intensified and became a hurricane, lashing out at Haiti and the Dominican Republic before drawing a bead on Jamaica. Leaving Jamaica in its wake, it then set its sights on the Cayman Islands, after which it intensified into a category five storm before smashing into the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula early this week.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jamaica has more than 230,000 members, 670 churches and operates the Northern Caribbean University, Andrews Memorial Hospital and the Book and Nutrition Center.
To help victims of Hurricane Dean in Jamaica and/or the Caribbean, contact the Inter-American Division at 305.403.4700 ADRA office or go to www.adra.org.
For more information on the Adventist Church in Jamaica, visit www.wiunion.org.
