Memories
of Hurricane Ivan may be fading as the world remembers
other disasters and newspapers report on new crises.
However,
in Grenada, two years after, many people still remember
the death and destruction caused by hurricane Ivan on September
7th, 2004.
But even though Ivan’s memory remains
fresh in the minds of all Grenadians, the country is well
on its way to recovery and there is a spirit that is stronger
than ever with an optimism that is humbling to outsiders.
“Ivan the terrible” as it is now called destroyed
90 percent of this eastern Caribbean island leaving 50 percent
of the population homeless.
The backbone of the country’s
economy – tourism and agriculture was totally wiped
out. The Grenada Red Cross (GRC) headquarters was also totally
destroyed.
The strongest hurricane of the 2004
Atlantic season, Ivan was the ninth named storm and the fourth
major hurricane of the year.
Reaching category five strength
it left more than 20 dead and billions of dollars in damage.
After battering Grenada, Ivan moved on to pound Jamaica,
Cuba, the Cayman Islands and the US states of Florida and
Alabama.
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Director
General
Terry
Charles |
Mr Terry Charles, GRC director general,
said nearly everything that was damaged has been restored
or rebuilt, despite a minor setback last July when hurricane
Emily made its way through the island again.
“Apart
from the infrastructural work that has been done, I think
that the general feeling of the population is that a lot
has been accomplished over the last two years.”
He said that since Ivan people on the
islands “have
become a little more resilient, more prepared and take disaster
preparedness much more seriously than they did two years
ago.”
However, while many people seem to be
recovering and rebuilding, Mr Charles noted that there were
still some people on the island living in dilapidated conditions.
This is where the GRC’s programmes come in.
Operating from a brand new headquarters
which was only opened in May this year, the GRC has continued
with its psychosocial wellness and other programmes helping
people deal with what happened two years ago.
“There are many people on the
island who still have not come to terms with what happened.
They live in squalor.”
The GRC is now sought after by many
other agencies on the island to conduct psychosocial and
other programmes. Additionally, the GRC has done a lot of
First Aid training and over the last two years over more
than 2,500 persons have been trained and re-tooled in First
Aid.
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