Sun, 24 Jul 2005, 11:42

The high incidence of storm activity for the month of July which is unprecedented at this stage of all previously recorded hurricane seasons continued on Saturday with the seventh named tropical system forming in the gulf of Mexico July 23, 2005.

At 11am Eastern Caribbean Time Tropical Storm Gert was located some 135 miles southeast of Tampico, Mexico. Gert is expected to make landfall on the northwestern coast of Mexico later this evening.

Whilst TS Gert poses no threat to the CDERA Participating States, it should serve as a reminder to all that we are now deeply embedded into the hurricane season and so must remain prepared and vigilant. Many States have already been impacted by severe weather systems resulting in death, destruction and disclocation. Now may be a good opportunity to review family and agency plans, ensure that critiacal systems are functional and that key support services such as shltering are available.

The CDERA Coordinating Unit and respective National Disaster Organisations maybe contacted for general hurricane preparedness information

Emily leaves 167 families homeless in Grenada and 2,641 roofs damaged By NaDMA Fri, 15 Jul 2005, 21:38

Situation Report #6

A debriefing session was held by the National Disaster Coordinator with all District Coordinators.  A full report was given by the Coordinator.  The under-mentioned reflects their preliminary assessment. A coordination meeting with all stakeholders will be held tomorrow to assess the levels of response of recovery activities.

NUMBER OF ROOFS DAMAGED BY PARISH
St. George’s	285
St. Andrew’s	1153
St. Patrick’s	499
St. David’s	126
St. John’s	151
St. Mark’s	77
Carriacou & Petit Martinique	350
TOTAL	2641

	Homeless  Families	Original # of persons in shelters	People currently in shelters
St. George’s	8	1192	72
St. Andrew’s	87	2521	279
St. Patrick’s	50	238	178
St. David’s	10	10	18
St. John’s	2	195	75
St. Mark’s	10	125	50
Carriacou & Petit Martinique	N/A	N/A	N/A
TOTAL	167	4,281	672

PRIORITY NEEDS LIST

- Tarpaulins
- Roofing material
- Food stuff
- Water cans/bottles
- Water tanks (for shelters)
- Basic household items eg. Mattress, beds, cookers, utensils

Coordinator
National Disaster Management Agency
Grenada

The 3 am event came with little or no warning.

The activity on 18 July was characterised by an explosive eruption which almost certainly led to pyroclastic flows (pf’s) to the sea in Tar River. In line with previous events at earlier stages in the volcanic activity (example in March 2004) the explosion was followed by a series of hybrid and volcano-tectonic (vt)  earthquakes.  Activity has now returned to background levels.

There are no restrictions on movement other than in the Exclusion Zones. However, as areas are very ashy, residents in affected areas are asked to wear ash masks and to drive cautiously. Ash masks are available from clinics and police stations in the affected areas.

The MVO has collected ash samples from the affected areas to determine whether or not the material was new material from depth in the volcano or older material from the dome. The samples collected will be examined over the course of the next few days. However, ash samples collected after the 28, June and 3 July 2005 events showed no evidence that new magmatic material was involved.

Scientists reiterated that the risk to areas in the north of the island remain low.