US rescue teams to descend on hard-hit Caribbean after catastrophic Hurricane Melissa's impact
FIRST ON FOX: The State Department is deploying teams that are expected to arrive in the Caribbean as early as Thursday to support disaster response after Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica...
By Fox News · Fox News
FIRST ON FOX: The State Department is deploying teams that are expected to arrive in the Caribbean as early as Thursday to support disaster response after Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica Tuesday. The State Department announced it would deploy a regional disaster assistance response team (DART) and had activated U.S.-based urban search and rescue (USAR) teams to support response efforts in the region following Hurricane Melissa. A senior State Department official told Fox News Digital Wednesday that these teams are expected to arrive in Jamaica Thursday since the airport hasn’t suffered too much damage, but plans are in place to coordinate with the Department of War for a potential airlift in case commercial operations are not available. Likewise, the State Department also has requested the Department of War provide airlift support to provide food, water and other nutritional supplies to those in need throughout the island. FLOODS, LANDSLIDES IN MEXICO LEAVE AT LEAST 41 DEAD Another disaster assistance response team is expected to provide assistance to Haiti Thursday. The Bahamas also are expected to request a declaration of humanitarian need later Wednesday, which will allow the State Department to activate a disaster assistance response team there too, which could arrive as early as Friday, the official said. Additionally, the State Department has signed off on nearly $1 million to go toward administering food and other resources, pulling from predesignated supplies housed in 12 different warehouses across the region. This includes six warehouses based in Haiti, one in the Dominican Republic, another in Barbados and one in Miami. "We have stood up resources to assist our American citizens who are on the ground, in addition to deploying Disaster Assistance Response Teams who will help provide critical coordination in overseeing U.S. assistance," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement to Fox News Digital. DHS JUGGLES ‘MASS DEPORTATION’ PUSH WIT…