Government is still not ready to give a final tally on the damage to homes from Hurricane Elsa as the number of reports continues to increase, more than 96 hours after the system made its destructive passage over the island early Friday morning.
However, provisions are already being made in collaboration with the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), a religious organisation and a trade union to house dozens of displaced Barbadians.
Minister of Home Affairs, Information and Public Affairs, Wilfred Abrahams on Tuesday revealed that officials from the Department of Emergency Management (DEM) and the Barbados Statistical Service (BSS) are still collecting and collating damage claims that now stand at over 2,300.
He also noted that a $5 million dollar preliminary damage assessment from some insurance executives does not paint an accurate national picture, stressing that the figure being bandied about is solely in relation to houses that were covered by insurance.
“But I want to make it very clear to Barbadians that the bulk of the damage and destruction happened to uninsured houses. I urge you, just drive around Barbados and look. People may not know exactly what a million dollars looks like, but you will know that there was a lot of damage and destruction in Barbados and we are seeing a lot of houses flattened on the ground,” the Home Affairs minister declared.
“We don’t yet have a dollar figure as to what that value is. The assessment is going on as we speak now and the DEM’s statistical services are collecting all of the information and we are collating the information and we are running the numbers. We are doing the assessments and we are validating the claims,” Abrahams added.
DEM Director, Kerrie Hinds revealed that a total of 2,372 “problems” had been reported that include 1,333 reports of roof damage. Breaking down the numbers by parish, she revealed that at 475 and 605 reports respectively, Christ Church and St Michael had been dealt the most significant blow, followed by St Philip (273) St George (268 claims), St James (147), St Thomas (127) and St John (119).
“There are 533 households that indicated that they needed some type of assistance in terms of alternate accommodation and as we continue to take your various reports, we will continue to refine those numbers,” Hinds told reporters.
“As alluded to before, members of the various damage assessment committees are still in the field doing damage assessment reports and socioeconomic assessments as well. This will help us to refine the information that we are receiving here at the National Emergency Operations Centre,” she added.
Pledging that Government would leave no stone unturned in its efforts to bring relief to thousands of displaced Barbadians, Abrahams revealed that the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) in collaboration with the Intimate Hotels of Barbados had already made 108 rooms available.
He added that 18 units have been made available from the Sons of God Apostolic Spiritual Baptist Church and another 13 units at the Barbados Workers’ Union’s Labour College in St Philip.
“We as a government are leaving no stone unturned in trying to get you the relief that you need at this point in time. All of the critical agencies are working to try to place persons whose lives were dislocated or whose properties were lost,” Abrahams declared.
“Right now the focus of the government is to try to restore some level of normalcy to the lives of the persons who have actually been affected and try to get you into some level of comfort as quickly as we can.
“This is now about the people of Barbados. We have had destruction, we have had dislocation, we have had damage and we will get to rebuilding and restoration, but for now, the critical focus is on the persons and individuals who have been affected,” the minister added.
In the medium term, he noted, priority for rebuilding will focus on rebuilding houses that have been totally destroyed until officials are better able to assess the cost and extent of partially-damaged homes.
Abrahams said: “I just want to assure Barabadians you are not walking this alone. If you have lost or have suffered, you’re not walking this alone. If you have insurance, then we are going to lean on the insurance to sort you out. If you are in a position to help yourself, then we are going to ask you to do so. But there are some persons who fall below that line that the Government has to take responsibility for and we have to look out for them. The Prime Minister keeps impressing that we must look out for the most vulnerable in our communities. We know who they are.”
(kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)
