Pinoy victims of ‘Irma’ in the Caribbean need help
Filipinos living in Caribbean nations devastated by Hurricane Irma are in need of food, water and shelter, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Saturday.
According to the Philippine mission in Washington, the embassy is already coordinating with British authorities in delivering relief to Filipinos in the British Virgin Islands.
Chargé d’Affaires Patrick Chuasoto said 264 of about 3,000 Filipinos in the Carribean live in the British Virgin Islands.
The other Filipinos live in the UK territories and dependencies of Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Bahamas; Turks and Caicos; and the British Virgin Islands.
There are also Filipinos in the French territories and dependencies of Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin as well as the US Virgin Islands, according to the DFA.
Some of the Filipinos complained they have had difficulties finding food, water and shelter after Hurricane Irma, which became a Category 5 storm on Saturday, hit the region.
The team will bring relief supplies and arrange for the repatriation of those who may want to return to the Philippines.
“So far we have not received any report of Filipino casualties although many of our [countrymen] continue to suffer from power outages, decreasing supplies and damage to property and loss of important documents, including passports,” Chuasoto said.
He said there are also about 200,000 Filipinos living in the US states of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, which might be affected by Hurricane Irma.
Philippine Ambassador to Mexico Eduardo De Vega said there were no Filipino casualties in the Dominican Republic and Cuba, which are under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Embassy in Mexico.
De Vega said Philippine Honorary Consul Limuel Dadulo had reported that Filipinos in the affected areas of Punta Cana, Bavaro and Puerto Plata were all safe and accounted for.
In Haiti, Philippine Honorary Consul Fitzgerald Brandt also reported that there were no casualties among the close to 300 Filipinos living there.
