Regional relief team on ground in Antigua

Help has arrived for Antigua and Barbuda.

A nine-member team from the CARICOM Disaster Relief Unit (CDRU) left Barbados yesterday afternoon to bring emergency supplies and aid in the wake of Hurricane Irma. 

While Irma, described as one of the worst hurricanes in the last decade, spared most of Antigua its wrath, its sister island Barbuda was not so lucky. 

They are also now bracing for the impact of Hurricane Jose, which is expected to reach landfall by Saturday. 

The CDRU team from the Barbados Defence Force left the island just before 7 p.m. 

That team is being led by Lieutenant Commander Graham Rocheford and includes Sub-Lieutenant Sasha Marshall, Sargeant Venice Forde, Sargeant Hilton Stoute, Corporal Paul Dixon, Corporal Christina Clarke, Corporal Leona Harewood, Lance Corporal Ikkesh Providence and Private Dwayne Lewis. 

Their main goals will be to provide supplies such as water and food, while also establishing emergency communications.

They are not equipped with any weapons.

The CDRU team is staying a stone’s throw away from the airport at the Former Air Station Base (FAS) located in Coolidge, St George’s.

A team from the NATION newspaper also made the trip to Antigua, departing the Grantley Adams International Airport at 7:18 p.m. and landing at the VC Bird International Airport at 8:40 p.m. (RB)