MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Downer
Australia will provide $550,000 in emergency humanitarian aid to Caribbean countries devastated by Hurricane Dean.
The assistance will be provided to the Caribbean Red Cross for urgently needed relief supplies, medical equipment and shelter in Belize, Dominica, Jamaica and St Lucia.
Dean is the third strongest hurricane to make landfall since records began, causing widespread damage to housing, services and crops. Initially a category two hurricane, it developed into a category five as it reached Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, near its border with Belize.
The storm killed eleven people in the Caribbean and has left at least 35,000 people in need of humanitarian assistance. Mexico was also affected but has not appealed for international assistance.
Australia will continue to monitor humanitarian conditions in the Caribbean and respond to priority needs in conjunction with other donors.
Media contacts: </
Malcolm Cole (Minister's Office) 02 6277 7500</
AusAID Public Affairs 0417 680 590