Support to the Red Cross after storm Fiona in Guadeloupe

The passage of tropical storm Fiona deprived several thousand Guadeloupeans of access to water and electricity. A Veoliaforce mission, conducted with the French Red Cross, enabled drinking water to be distributed to households in Vieux-Habitants.

The sixth cyclonic phenomenon of the season, Fiona caused chaos in Guadeloupe. From 16 to 17 September, gusty winds and torrential rains hit Grande-Terre and then Basse-Terre. Access to water was compromised for several tens of thousands of inhabitants, prompting the reaction of the French Red Cross and the Veolia Foundation.

A first Veoliaforce expert went into the field to deploy an Aquaforce 2,000, a mobile water treatment unit designed to cover the needs of 2,000 people. With the team members of the Red Cross Regional Intervention Platform for the Americas and the Caribbean (Pirac), José de Graeve started producing water 24 hours after his arrival and distributed it to the people of Vieux-Habitants. In coordination with the Red Cross and the Prefecture, a second Veoliaforce volunteer, Philippe Rous, left at the beginning of October to continue the water operation and then reposition the Aquaforce 2000 in the Pirac premises for future deployments.