Thousands of people are in desperate need of food, clean water and shelter, after Hurricane Ivan devastated Grenada and affected other islands in the Caribbean.

The strongest hurricane in ten years threatens to cut a swathe of destruction across the island of Jamaica in the coming hours. Ivan is an extremely dangerous Category 5 hurricane, packing winds of 220 kilometres per hour.

It has already claimed at least 12 lives in Grenada and left thousands of families homeless along the Caribbean.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has launched a preliminary appeal for 1.75 million Swiss francs (1.39 million $US) and follows the earlier release by the Federation of 300,000 Swiss francs from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund, which enables the Red Cross to respond to immediate needs.

The funds will be used to provide those affected with shelter materials, food, blankets, kitchen sets, hygiene articles and jerry cans to support 10,000 people in the coming 6 months.

The situation in Grenada is serious. Twelve people have died, but officials in Grenada fear that the death toll will rise. Approximately 90% of the country's homes have been damaged and around 60,000 people (out of a population of approximately 95,000) are homeless: Thousands of people are accommodated in 47 shelters. There is no water or electricity supplies in the island.

Red Cross international and regional teams are already in Grenada , Jamaica , Cuba , Haiti , the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic . A British Red Cross Logistics Emergency Response Unit is heading to Grenada to support the relief efforts.

Donations can be made at www.ifrc.org/helpnow/donate/donate_response.asp

For further information, or to set up interviews please contact:
In Trinidad:
Allison Ali,
Information Officer,
Tel: 1-868-624-1557/1-868-6272665/1-868-688-2165
Fax: 1-868-627-9627
E-mail: ifrctt07@ifrc.org

In Jamaica:
Marko Kokic,
Information delegate
Tel: +1 876 466-6057

In Geneva:
Eva M. Calvo,
Press Officer -
Tel: + 41 22 730 43 57 / + 41 79 217 33 72
Duty Phone: + 41 79 416 3881