The Central American and Caribbean Orienteering Championships are due to begin as planned in Santo Domingo tomorrow, despite the recent hurricanes in the region ©IOF

The Central American and Caribbean Orienteering Championships are due to begin as planned in Santo Domingo tomorrow, despite the recent hurricanes in the region.

Joining hosts the Dominican Republic in competing in the five-day event will be Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico and Venezuela.

More than 80 people are thought to have been killed as a result of Hurricane Irma, which swept through the Caribbean earlier this month before hitting Florida in the United States.

Hurricane Maria, meanwhile, has claimed more than 30 lives across the region.

A $1 million (£744,000/€848,000) emergency fund has been set up by the International Olympic Committee to assist Caribbean sporting organisations in recovering from the impact of Hurricane Irma.

More than 80 people are thought to have been killed as a result of Hurricane Irma ©Getty Images
More than 80 people are thought to have been killed as a result of Hurricane Irma ©Getty Images

Before the Championships, a conference is due to take place where each country will present on the development of orienteering.

This is with the view to coordinating actions that help all nations to advance quicker.  

The second Congress of the Central America and Caribbean Orienteering Confederation will also be held, chaired by secretary general Alby Aguilar and the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) regional coordinator José Ángel Nieto Poblete.

The competition and activities coordinated by Poblete are organised by the Dominican Orienteering Federation, with its President Martin Quezada.

The Dominican Republic was the latest country in the region to join the IOF having done so in 2016.