Canadians response to Hurricane Irma

Over 6 million people are without power in the state of Florida, the majority in Miami. It will take weeks for the power to be restored and Florida Hydro needs all the help it can get. 175 Hydro One workers from Ontario have crossed the Queenston Lewiston bridge and are heading down to the sunshine state.

50 to 60 trucks and trailers gathered at a travel centre Monday in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The crews will spend two weeks in Florida starting on Wednesday, working 16-hour days. All the costs are covered by Florida Hydro.

Meanwhile Canadian medical students in the Carribbean are begging for help from the Canadian Government.Approximately 34 Canadian students along with their family members in St. Maarten feel as though they have been left behind.

22 year old medical student Mariel Chan has been stuck in St. Maarten after the hurricane hit last Tuesday. She has been taking shelter at the American University of the Caribbean school’s auditorium while calling on the Canadian Government for help. Chan and her older sister Wyncel says her family feels like they have been abandoned.

“It is appalling, it is so frustrating we are running out of options on who to contact. We have called the Embassy, Global Affairs, we have been on the news and yet there still hasn’t been anything sent.”

Chan has been anxiously waiting at the airport with over 100 other Canadians in hopes of getting on a plane to get back home while many of her American class mates have already been taken to safety by the U.S. military.

Right now the students are running on granola bars, supplies are getting low and the scene there is growing more tense as looting has begun. The main complaint from medical students there is that the Federal Government isn’t showing the same support for it citizens as the French, Dutch and American Governments.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says a damage assessment team is headed for Antigua to determine what humanitarian assistance can be provided to the Caribbean region. Global Affairs says over 300 Canadians have asked for assistance.

Over 20 Canadian students made it out of St. Maarten before Irma hit. They have created a petition online to bring more attention to this situation and will be sending the petition to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling for his immediate action.