6,000 Canadians evacuated before hurricane Maria: minister

By The Canadian Press and News Staff

International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said 6,000 Canadians who were in the path of hurricane Maria were evacuated before the storm hit.

She said Thursday 168 Canadians who chose not to leave have requested federal assistance in the wake of the devastating storm that is ravaging the Caribbean.

That number includes 147 students on the hard-hit island of Dominica, who will need to be evacuated by boat to St. Lucia before they can be brought to Canada.

But some people who remain on the island are denying Bibeau’s claim. Canadian medical student Denise Araujo said they received no information from the government about evacuation and would never have declined an evacuation.

“Never. No one told us anything. We’d never decline,” she told CityNews.

She said the only information they ever received about a Canadian rescue mission was from the British military.

“The British had landed their helicopter here and they took some British citizens back. They were telling us that the Canadians (were) meant to arrive (that day),” Araujo explained.

She said the situation there is desperate and she sleeps with a knife under her pillow.

“Everyone’s roofs were lost, windows were smashed … it was just a nightmare,” Araujo explained.

“Everyone’s been robbing every store. You have to hide your water … and we were told at night, you have to protect your stuff because since most of the stores have been robbed, people are going to get desperate and start robbing houses.”

Her sister Nadia Araujo, said Denise and other Canadians on the island were not told to leave the island and the storm, which became a hurricane, hit the island quickly and evacuation was never an option to them.

Bibeau said the debris surrounding Dominica is complicating rescue efforts but adds everyone is safe and will be evacuated as soon as possible.

She said 20 other people in the region who have medical needs will also be assisted by Canadian authorities.

The storm’s death toll across the Caribbean climbed to at least 19, nearly all of them on Dominica.

Maria slammed into Puerto Rico as a category four hurricane on Wednesday and was the strongest storm to hit the U.S. territory in over 80 years.

Bibeau said the government didn’t receive any requests for aid from Canadians living on that island.

Maria was expected to approach the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas late Thursday and early Friday.

With files from The Associated Press

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