GlobalMedic & Air Canada supporting Hurricane Irma relief with clean drinking water

TORONTO, Sept. 15, 2017 /CNW/ - Hurricane Irma is the strongest storm ever recorded in the Atlantic. On September 6, 2017, the Category 5 storm reached the Northern Leeward Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Maarten, Anguilla, and the British and US Virgin Islands, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 300 km/h. The storm then moved on and hit Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas, Cuba, and Florida. There were 49 million people in Irma's path.

GlobalMedic is responding. On Sunday, September 10, our Rapid Response Team ? consisting of two volunteer firefighters, one paramedic and an engineer from Aeryon Labs ? deployed to St. Maarten with a drone, 756 Hygiene Kits, 200 Family Emergency Kits and two AquaResponse3 Water Purification Systems capable of providing clean drinking water to 2,000 people per day. The team has been working with local authorities to coordinate distributions and also provide aerial imagery to assist with the damage assessment. In addition, GlobalMedic shipped enough P&G Purifier of Water Sachets to Antigua and Cuba to purify 3.8 million litres of clean drinking water.

GlobalMedic & Air Canada have a long-standing partnership when it comes to humanitarian support and emergency response. Over the past few years, Air Canada has supported GlobalMedic by transporting essential aid to Winnipeg to support newly arrived refuges in 2017, Fort McMurray during the wildfires in 2016, Haiti following Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and to Dominica following tropical storms in 2015. In response to Hurricane Irma, Air Canada has supported GlobalMedic through the transport of water purification tablets into Antigua within days of the storm, and will be transporting additional aid and personnel from GlobalMedic over the weekend.

On Saturday, September 16, 2017, GlobalMedic and Air Canada are teaming up to package Family Emergency Kits for Hurricane Irma-affected families. Volunteers and staff will assemble the kits, each including water purification solutions and essential hygiene supplies for over 3,000 people. This aid will keep families safe from deadly communicable diseases, keeping them healthy and providing a sense of dignity during this dire time.

Air Canada is also supporting GlobalMedic by transporting this aid to families in need.

Media is invited to attend the packing event. GlobalMedic and Air Canada staff and volunteers will be available for interviews. Please use the contact information below.

Date & Time
Saturday, September 16, 2017
11:15am-12:15pm

Location
Air Canada Cargo
2580 Britannia Rd E,
Mississauga, ON  L4W 2P7

About GlobalMedic

GlobalMedic is a registered Canadian charity that runs capacity building programs and provides disaster relief services to large-scale catastrophes around the world.

GlobalMedic has responded to 181 disasters in 63 countries, including earthquakes in Ecuador, Haiti, Japan and Nepal; tsunamis in Japan and Sri Lanka; typhoons in the Philippines and Taiwan; hurricanes in Grenada and Guatemala; cyclones in India, Myanmar and Vanuatu; floods in Bangladesh, Mexico and Pakistan; drought and famine in Kenya and Mauritania; epidemics in Liberia and Sierra Leone; and complex emergencies in Gaza, Iraq, Mali, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen.

GlobalMedic has been using innovative UAV technology to save lives since 2014. UAVs helped us respond to Typhoon Hagupit in the Philippines, the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, the 2016 earthquake in Ecuador, and the 2017 landslides in Colombia. Imagery captured by our UAVs identified the most vulnerable and affected communities, allowing our teams to deliver aid where it was needed most. Through these responses, GlobalMedic is emerging as a leader in the operation of UAVs in disaster zones.

www.globalmedic.ca
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SOURCE GlobalMedic