Heading for the Caribbean disaster zone
| Patricia Dillon, from North London, is heading for the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean as part of the British Red Cross emergency response unit (ERU) to help people affected by hurricane Hanna.
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Patricia, who lives in Finsbury Park, is a disaster management specialist and she will be working with another specialist, Ina Bluemel, and a team of 14 volunteers to assess needs and priorities in the devastated areas.
The team will also provide on-the-ground information to the co-ordinating bodies, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Pan-American Disaster Response Unit.
In to the path of the storm
While the danger from Hurricane Hanna has passed, Hurricane Ike is currently heading straight for the islands and will likely hit hours after the team reaches the area, causing further catastophe and disaster.
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| Before she left, Patricia said: “It’s great that we’re going out at such short notice because we’re giving very prompt help. We’ll be getting there before Hurricane Ike hits so we’ll be able to help people immediately.
“It’s good that we can get there so promptly to provide help.”
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Making a difference
Patricia's day job is working as community fundraising support manager for the Red Cross. She said: "I volunteered to be part of the ERU after seeing how much of a difference you can make when I went to an emergency response exercise. It's brilliant being able to help and working with the local communities."
She previously deployed to Pakistan after the 2005 earthquake.
Find out more about the Hurricane Appeal
More about the situation in the Carribean | |
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