North Carolina’s leaders give insight on the effects of Hurricane Melissa

Wilmington, NC (WWAY)– The North Carolina emergency management association held its meeting on Wednesday at the Wilmington convention center.

It’s an opportunity for delegates to exchange information and resources to help coordinate statewide efforts in the event of a hurricane or flooding.

with recent storms causing widespread erosion on beaches and flooding from Hurricane Helene last year. The association’s president Daniel Roten says it was a groundbreaking event for them.

Roten said, “We are all here to learn from each other, to share our experience, to talk about best practices. What worked what didn’t work, and how we can apply that to future disasters and events”

Roten and his colleagues’ attentions were divided a thousand miles south where Melissa churned through Jamaica and Cuba.

“Jamaica is in everybody prayers. the whole region is. We are discussing it. Are we making plans necessarily to folks in North Carolina to go? We are giving it some thoughts.” Roten said.

While damage in Jamaica and Cuba got most of the attention, their Caribbean neighbor Haiti was hit hard.

At least 40 people have died in Haiti. Wilmington’s own Becky Graves, who is the executive director of Haiti Awake speaks on the subject.

“Information right now is incredibly slow coming from the peninsula, which is the southern coast of Haiti, where it seems, most of the damage has taken place”

Graves said her organization, which helps economic development in the region, is ready to mobilize and urges fellow Wilmington citizens to help out

“Know who you are supporting in Haiti. Small organizations tend to be more effective than larger organizations, simply because the money that you’re sending,” said Graves

Unfortunately, history is repeating itself for Haitians dealing with this latest bout with mother nature, just like in 2016 with Hurricane Matthew

Graves says “Haiti is a place where there is a consistent storyline, and that is a storyline of poverty and need. However, in a situation like this, I think it’s really important not to dramatize the situation, not to add drama to a place that has enough drama of its own without having to make it more than it is”