CHURCH  WORLD SERVICE: EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM
SITUATION REPORT: CARRIBBEAN STORMS
October 31, 2007


SITUATION: At least 59 people have died from Tropical Storm Noel, a 
slow-moving storm that has affected a number of Caribbean countries, 
particularly the Dominican Republic, where at least 41 have been killed 
and nearly 40 others are reported missing, according to the AFP news 
agency -- though other reports say at least 50 people have already died.

The unusually high death toll from a tropical storm is due to Noel*s 
heavy rains that have resulted in severe flooding.  Serious damage is 
also reported in neighboring Haiti.

Tropical Storm Noel, said Lorenzo Mota King, director of long-time CWS 
partner Social Service of Dominican Churches (SSID), has been the *most 
catastrophic disaster of recent years, not necessarily by the 
devastating forces of the winds but by its ample range, high volume of 
water by the heavy rainfall, and the slowness in speed moving across the 
island.*

Mota King also reports: *Hundreds of people are missing and still 
unaccounted for; hundreds of houses have been dragged by the surging 
waters; serious damages have impacted the agriculture sector;  almost 80 
percent of the electrical supply is out of service for the island; the 
telephone systems interrupted, bridges and major roadways destroyed -- 
all making communication between the capital city of Santo Domingo and 
the southern region of El Cibao extremely difficult.*


RESPONSE:  SSID regional teams are already assessing damage and planning 
for a response that will be supported by Church World Service. Support 
might include material aid assistance if requested.

For further information about disasters to which Church World Service is 
responding please visit www.churchworldservice.org or call the CWS 
Hotline, (800) 297-1516.

CWS Emergency Response Program  special contacts: (212) 870-3151

Program Director:  dderr@churchworldservice.org

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