Low on food and water, shelter at Petersfield High in need of urgent help

Persons overseeing the hurricane shelter at Petersfield High School in Westmoreland, as well as those who evacuated their homes to safety, are appealing for urgent help, saying they are running low on food, water, and other supplies.

Classrooms that were once filled with lessons and students are now lined with sleeping mats, the cries of babies, and the low murmur of people trying to hold on to what little normalcy exists after Hurricane Melissa.

The school, which is housing over 160 displaced residents, including children, is now on the brink of a crisis as the shelter lacks running water and has limited food.

According to persons at the shelter, there has been no government relief support so far.

Those taking refuge say they are simply trying to survive one day at a time.

“My main disappointment is that this was a known [hurricane] centre before the hurricane. And then the hurricane came, people were coming in from Tuesday night, and they came into nothing — no bed, no water, nothing at all. Up to today [Wednesday], we have not gotten any assistance here,” said Philippa Walters, a teacher at the school, who is also one of the people helping to manage the shelter.

Walters said the first group of evacuees started arriving before the storm’s peak and more poured in after the winds and rains eased.

“We started to use the school resources. The chicken and all of that, we have to be using it up. So we don’t know what will happen when it’s finished because as it is now, we have not seen anybody from the government, nobody come here to do anything,” she said.

Now, the shelter is rationing what little remains.

“We are at a crisis stage because we are running out of drinking water. Persons are limited to one bottle of water per day,” Walters said, demonstrating with her hands the size of a small half-litre bottle.

“That’s all we can give right now.”

The water shortage is also affecting sanitation, a public health concern, as Westmoreland faces a risk of outbreaks and diseases.

“As it is now, we don’t have any more running water for shower and for the toilet,” she said.

“We were good up to today [Wednesday], because we had persons cleaning the bathrooms twice per day. But now we can’t clean. That’s when the panic starts.”

Their coffers are also running dry, as food supplies are almost gone.

“By Thursday, we’ll be out of food. The food we have is what the school had in stock,” said Walters.

She pointed out that this is a serious situation, noting the presence of over 40 children, including three newborns, at the shelter.

“They were born before the storm. They are less than a week old, and they’re still here lying on desks and the floor,” Walters said.

Amid the food and water issues, the shelter is ensuring that safety and security are maintained.

Adrian Anderson, head of security at the shelter, has been at the school since before the storm.

“From before the storm start, we started having persons coming in. Our main thing right now is security. If there’s no security on [the] compound, persons from the community coming in, take things, [and] want to leave. Persons are looking for food, water,” he said.

Anderson said that on several occasions, “persons tend to come and break [in] over here, but police have been checking in to help maintain order. We have police come in and check, and we have police in plain clothes come and check,” he said.

“At night, we work along with them, do patrol, watch out. Even persons in the shelter help us look out, and we have some strong military too, who give an eye out and look.”

Anderson said a system is in place to monitor movement in and out of the shelter.

“When they go out on the road and come back, even if it’s late night, they identify themselves before they come in,” Anderson explained.

“We also have a teacher on board who keeps a record of all persons who are in for lunch, breakfast, or anything, so we know the number of persons coming in and out.”

Despite the strain, the weight of doing what they can remains on the shelter managers' shoulders.

“We just have to look out our eyes. People are frustrated, but we have to hold it together,” said Anderson.

- Mickalia Kington

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