August 21, 2007 – Miami, Florida, United States…[Libna Stevens/IAD]
As Hurricane Dean moves into central Mexico after leaving its destructive mark on several eastern Caribbean islands, leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America are concerned for the thousands of church members who may be affected by the dangerous storm.
Hurricane Dean, which hit the islands of St. Lucia and Martinique on Aug. 17 with winds up to 100 mph, continued to stregthen as it aimed for the Dominican Republic and Haiti in the hours to follow.
The winds increased to a sustained 150 mph in the warm waters southwest of the Isle of Hispañola, making the storm a strong category four. Dean's eye passed just south of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands on Aug. 19 and 20, but not without lashing the islands with its powerful winds and drenching rain.
“We are extremely concerned,” said Pastor Israel Leito, president of the church Inter-America. “I'm following the news of the storm all the time. All the places this hurricane hit represent areas of great member density. We are very concerned for the public in general, but especially the members and the church infrastructure.”
Pastor Leito said he has tried to contact church leaders in the Caribbean with little success. Initial damage reports have been coming in slowly.
According to Pastor Leito, the church structure in Martinique did not suffer much damage.
The southwest region of the Dominican Republic was affected by the winds and rain of Hurricane Dean, but the island's Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is in the process of assessing the damages, said Wally Amundson, ADRA director for Inter-America.
No official church estimates on the damage afflicted in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands is available yet.
ADRA Inter-America is prepared to aid those affected by the storm, said Amundson.
“Previous disasters and responses have created a readiness among our ADRA offices and different administrative offices in Inter-America,” Amundson said. “So we have some experience on how to work with the community and its leaders.”
“Each year we refine and modify our disaster response plan where we have trained individuals and resources ready to respond,” he added. “In the case of Inter-America, we have committed in advance the funding required to make a first response.”
In the case of Mexico, said Amundson, ADRA organizers there purchased and prepared family food baskets and water for those who could be affected in anticipation of the damage. The eye of Dean, now a dangerous category five, made landfall in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico today.
Pastor Leito urged fellow Inter-Americans and Seventh-day Adventist Church members worldwide to continue praying for God's protection as Hurricane Dean continues to pound Mexico.
