U.S. EMBASSY ANNOUNCES FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE TO JAMAICA

KINGSTON- September 13, 2004

Kingston, Jamaica -- Due to the magnitude of the effects of Hurricane Ivan in Jamaica, United States Ambassador to Jamaica Sue M. Cobb issued a disaster declaration on September 12.  The declaration provides US$50,000 from the U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) to Jamaica Red Cross and the Salvation Army, for emergency humanitarian assistance.

In addition, OFDA is sending two planes of relief supplies to Jamaica worth more than US$240,000.  The first plane is expected to land this afternoon in Kingston, carrying eight (8) Zodiac boats for search and rescue in Western Jamaica; 200 hygiene kits, each of which will serve one family for two weeks; and 2,000 water containers, each of which can hold 2 1/2 litres of water.   The second plane, expected to arrive on Tuesday, will bring 1,800 hygiene kits and 250 rolls of plastic sheeting to assist in providing temporary shelter.

There is a four-person OFDA disaster assistance response team based at USAID in Kingston to assist the United States Embassy in coordinating relief efforts with the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management and the International Federation of the Red Cross.