CMAT EMERGENCY ALERT #1: Hurricane Irma 2017
September 8, 2017: CMAT continues to monitor the progress of Hurricane Irma and is standing by for further guidance from the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) for potential deployment. A formal appeal for international assistance has not yet been made by any of the countries affected.
Irma’s wide band swept over Antigua & Barbuda, Anguilla, St. Barthélemy, Sint Maarten, Puerto Rico, Montserrat and St Kitts & Nevis, with Barbuda and Anguilla most heavily affected. The catastrophic category 5 storm is currently centred in the unusually warm waters between the Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Island, Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Haiti.
As this storm progresses, it is expected to slam directly into the US state of Florida. As of the 8 pm EDT Thursday the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said Irma’s top sustained winds were 185 mph (297 km/h) with higher gusts, and evacuations are already in progress in the region. It is estimated that more that 31.7 million people will be affected by Irma’s trail through the Caribbean.
According to news articles, at least 14 people are so far reported to have died. Massive damage has been reported across the islands already savaged by the storm. Hurricane Irma is being followed by Hurricane José, which is moving very slowly in the Atlantic Ocean and is anticipated to affect the northern Leeward Islands along a similar track to Irma.
Canadians wishing to support the CMAT response to Hurricane Irma can make a financial donation to the Hurricane Irma Appeal.
View the Global News Update from Thursday September 7th here:
http://globalnews.ca/video/rd/1041896003654/
Preliminary Call for Expressions of Interest:
At this time, CMAT Deployment coordinators are asking for Expressions of Interest from only active and current CMAT volunteer members who would available to deploy as early as Sunday September 10th for up to about 3 weeks.
To submit your expression of interest to CMAT, the following steps are mandatory. In order to comply with the World Health Organization’s Minimum Standards for Emergency Medical Teams, in the event a deployment is confirmed, failing to provide hard copies of the following items to CMAT will result in forfeiture of your eligibility to deploy.
In order to be placed on the standby list for potential deployment, please prepare your package of printed hard copies of the following documents to be kept on hand, and also submit electronic copies to CMAT:
- Three (3) printed passport style photos, one copy scanned and emailed to CMAT;
- Proof of Professional Registration with your provincial regulatory body or association (College of Physicians, College of Nurses etc.), a copy scanned and emailed to CMAT;
- A printed and signed copy of your CMAT liability waiver, a copy scanned and emailed to CMAT;
- Please ensure that your applicable Professional Liability Protection or Insurance is up to date, carry a copy with you, a copy scanned and emailed to CMAT;
- Two (2) photocopies of the photo page of your Canadian Passport with a minimum of 6 months remaining validity, and a copy scanned and emailed to CMAT.
- Please send your expressions interest by COMPLETING this Excel Form found linked here.
All scanned and completed documents are to be attached to one single email, and sent to:[email protected]
All potential CMAT members must have a complete and updated profile registered on the CMAT website. Please log in and update your profile at:
**Please note: due to recent high traffic volume, our website and registration page does occasionally experience some glitches. Please try again if you encounter an error.**
Kindly understand that we are all volunteers, and are getting inundated with hundreds of emails and phone calls, as well as working hard on response coordination (and our own full time jobs!!). By sending back your completed excel sheet and required documents, we will place you on our standby list, but we will be contacting you only if deployment is confirmed, and you are moved to the potential deployment list.
Every dollar counts when we are responding to disaster. You can help by clicking above and donating generously through CanadaHelps.org!!
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/cmat-canadian-medical-assistance-teams/hurricane-irma/
