Faced with the floods that affected the north of the island of Saint Lucia in early November, the Armed Forces in the Antilles (FAA) mobilized, in support of the French Red Cross, to come to the aid of the population.
The Antilles-Guyane patrol vessel La Résolue had initially planned to make a stopover in Saint Lucia as part of the Remembrance Day commemorative ceremonies on Sunday 13 November.
In response to the heavy flooding that severely affected the north of the island of Saint Lucia, the French vessel was redirected to Fort-de-France on Thursday November 10 to load 350 kilos of food, clothing and hygiene kits provided by the French Red Cross. La Résolue then transited to the port of Castries and the crew unloaded the freight when it docked, which was taken into account by the Saint Lucia Red Cross.
This action, prepared on short notice, enabled the rapid dispatch of emergency humanitarian aid to the inhabitants of Saint Lucia hard hit by the bad weather. It is fully in line with the heart of the missions of the FAA, assistance to populations in the event of natural disasters in the Caribbean.
The 1,000 FAA soldiers guarantee the protection of the national territory and lead regional cooperation from the departments of Martinique and Guadeloupe. They constitute a leading joint force in the Caribbean theatre, in coordination with the armed forces in Guyana. In the West Indies, the armed forces carry out missions of sovereignty and regional cooperation, and carry out three specific missions: State action at sea, under the authority of the Government delegate for State action at sea to effectively combat drug trafficking at sea and coordinate the implementation of emergency plans at sea; relief to populations in the event of natural disasters or serious humanitarian situations in the area.