Duguid tours work underway to fix storm-damaged houses

Government has started repairing and rebuilding houses damaged and destroyed by the June 17 freak storm ahead of a larger repair job following Hurricane Elsa.

On a tour of several of the houses being worked on, Minister of Housing Dr William Duguid said the houses earmarked to be repaired and rebuilt have been allocated to the Urban Development Commission (UDC), Rural Development Commission (RDC), and the National Housing Corporation (NHC).

Dr Duguid said: “The Urban Development Commission; three repairs have been completed, six new builds have started and one is still to be assigned. For the National Housing Corporation, 17 repairs have been completed, two new builds have started and there are 15 to be assigned.

“They [NHC) also have another 42 roofs damaged and they have assessed that, and we have delivered materials to 39 people and [another] 16 materials are requested. From the Rural Development Commission (RDC) we have one repair completed, 16 new builds are in progress and 16 have been mobilized. So we are pushing and that is just the freak storm.”

Dr Duguid reported that his ministry was still in the process of assessing the hundreds of homes damaged by Hurricane Elsa last Friday. But he indicated that repairs have started on some of the houses damaged by the hurricane and building materials have been delivered to some affected residents.

Multiple contractors are being used to carry out the building works on the houses, according to the housing minister.     

He said: “These are contractors that are accustomed building in Barbados and we are having checks and balances after and we have a whole cadre of engineers who would have first assessed the houses as to which ones have to be done first and then secondly they would go and check to see that they are being done appropriately.

“I am bringing a programme very shortly called strap it, which would make sure that in addition to building them appropriately that we would be using hurricane straps both at the base of the foundation and for the roof.”

As the minister’s tour moved to Endeavour, St James where a house is currently being rebuilt by the NHC, foreman Mark Sealey told reporters that engineers have advised builders to move the hurricane straps from the roof to the foundation.

At Tweedside Road, Urleane Williams said she was grateful that workmen have been working assiduously to fix the roof of her house which was damaged by a coconut tree that fell during the freak storm.

Williams said: “The workmen are working. It is just the rain this morning, if not you would have seen them up there already. They are really working fast and diligently to make sure that I get inside.” (AH)