Waterloo’s Aeryon sends drone to St. Maarten, Guelph residents start gofundme for victims of Irma

By The Canadian Press and News Staff

A Toronto-based aid organization says it’s sent four people to storm-battered St. Maarten to deliver supplies to those affected by hurricane Irma.

Rahul Singh, executive director of Global Medic, says the agency’s volunteers are headed to the Caribbean country on a Sunwing rescue flight.

“Everyone’s trying to get out of the one place that we’re getting into,” he said.

St. Maarten, located on the Dutch side of an island divided between French and Dutch control, was devastated by the hurricane. An estimated 70 per cent of the homes were damaged or destroyed by Irma and four people have died, according to the Dutch government.

There was concern that hurricane Jose could hit the island Saturday night, but the Netherlands said the island was spared further damage because the storm passed farther from shore than expected.

Sunwing said its rescue flight left from Toronto on Sunday morning, and will drop off one tonne of humanitarian aid supplies, along with the Global Medic volunteers.

A representative for the Canadian airline said the flight will be picking up Canadians, Americans and Europeans stuck on the island.

Waterloo-based drone maker Aeryon Labs has also sent one of its’ drones that will be used by Global Medic to provide rapid first aid response by giving them an eye in the sky.

Meantime, two Guelph residents, Gloria Shoon and Franklin Parada, have started a gofundme page to help the tiny island of Anguilla. Both have family who live there.

The island was directly in the path of Irma and was essentially flattened by the storm.

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