By early morning of Friday, October 28 th , 2007, what began as a low pressure system in the central Caribbean had accelerated into a deadly tropical storm. Tropical storm Noel was upgraded to a hurricane as it made landfall on the island of Hispaniola , carving a path of destruction through the Dominican Republic . The storm caused river banks to burst throughout the island, resulting in major flooding and landslides. The death toll stands at 84 while 50 are reported missing. 66,000 people were forced from their homes and are scattered throughout 125 temporary shelters which are slowly being depleted of relief items. 40% of the nation's water supply has been damaged, increasing the fear of water-borne disease outbreaks.
GobalMedic is responding to the disaster by deploying elements of its Rapid Response Team on Thursday, November 8 th . The team will be equipped with 1,652,000 essential medicines, 1.5 million Aquatab water purification tablets and 10 portable water purification units. The team's mission and gear will allow for high mobility in order to reach isolated camps and communities which have been cut off from aid. The team will include a Toronto Police Officer who is volunteering his time to respond. Signature Vacations has donated airline tickets for the team and SkyService has donated the air cargo space for all of the humanitarian aid.
The need for clean drinking water and emergency medicine is critical. GlobalMedic's response will ultimately stave off the outbreak of disease and save lives.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
