BASSETERRE, St.Kitts (Friday 16th April 2021)- More than 150 hotel rooms in St.Kitts and Nevis are expected to be reserved  so as to accommodate displaced citizens and residents of St.Vincent and the Grenadines, as one of two options, in light of the active La Soufrière volcano should requests be made for hosting facilities in the Federation.
 
National Disaster Coordinator at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Abdias Samuel says there are two options that have been considered in terms of potential acceptance of displaced persons from St.Vincent.
 
“One is that our hospitable citizens and residents who may want to accept them into their home  as a form of sponsorship or Vincentians who are living in St.Kitts and Nevis and they want to have their family returned from the impact zone or the affected areas,” he said while speaking at the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) COVID-19 Briefing held on Wednesday 14th April 2021.
 
For the next option, Samuel- who is also Chairman of the COVID-19 National Task Force- listed hotels that have come on board to assist by way of making rooms available.
 
He thanked management of the four establishments namely St.Kitts Marriott Hotel who has stated that 30 rooms would be made available, the Koi Resort for 70 rooms to be made available  and also Sugar Bay Club who has informed of approximately 30 rooms they will have available. 
 
“On Nevis, my understanding from our colleagues on Nevis  is that Mount Nevis is being considered.  They have indicated that they may have 30 rooms… to provide these services for the potential acceptance of displaced  persons…”, he added.
 
According to Samuel, “There is no specific date” as it relates to the arrival of individuals from the affected island.
 
“This will be a well-coordinated activity when the NEMO [National Emergency Management Organisation] would advise CDEMA [Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency] who will then advise the country. Also, we will have the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in St.Vincent who will be a part of this collaborative effort and they will notify St.Kitts and Nevis when they will have potential candidates  who will meet our criteria for being accepted into St.Kitts and Nevis under this particular designation. So at the present moment, we cannot say when this is going to happen. It’s gonna be dependent on the request from the affected state  to the countries who are providing these options.”
 
On Monday 12th April, through a supplies drive arrangement by the government and people of St.Kitts and Nevis including companies and individuals, items were successfully shipped to St.Vincent and the Grenadines that day despite a short notice to the public.
 
Workers’ representation organisation, The St.Kitts-Nevis Trades and Labour Union, owner of this media house, donated cases of bottled water purchased from local company Rainforest Water thanks to the contribution of executive members as well as contributors who quickly responded to the humanitarian relief effort.
 
“Today, (Monday, April 12th), we have been overwhelmed by the number of donations received, which were requested via our parent agency CDEMA in Barbados, in response to a call for assistance made by Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, on behalf of his countrymen,” Samuel said in a press release then.
 
Another food supplies drive is currently being undertaken by The National Emergency Management Agency and the Nevis Disaster Management Department in collecting non perishable food items to assist in the relief efforts, and the cut off time for doing so is set for Monday 19th at 12 pm.
 
Items can be dropped off at the NEMA Headquarters located at Lime Kiln, between 8am – 4pm.
 
Individuals who have questions can contact the agency by calling 466-5100.
 
The La Soufrière Volcano, which is located in northern section of  St.Vincent, exploded at about 8:40 on the morning of Friday 9th April 2021. Notably, on Tuesday 13th April, 42 years since its last eruption, another explosion was recorded.