Reports on hurricane damage in Dominica, which took a direct
hit from Category 5 Maria on Sept. 19, tell a story of tremendous loss.
"The main general hospital took a beating. Patient care
has been compromised," Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said in a
statement issued by Henry Hartley, his chief aid.
Buildings serving as shelters lost roofs. More than 97% of
roofs are damaged, including the police station's. Roads and bridges buckled
under the force of the winds.
Little contact has been made with the outer communities.
People who walked 15 miles to the capital city of Roseau reported total
destruction of homes, roadways and crops.
"We urgently need bedding supplies, tarpaulins, roofing
materials, helicopter services to take food, water, tarps to the outer
districts," Skerrit said.
Canefield Airport, the smaller of Dominica's two airports,
can accommodate helicopter landings. The waters surrounding the main port in
Roseau will be calm enough today to accommodate vessels with relief supplies.