PM says Tropical Storm Ian damage now at $889 million Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

The estimate of the damage from Tropical Storm Ian which affected the island in late September has been revised upwards to $889 million.

This is significantly more than the $360-million preliminary estimate that was given by Prime Minister Andrew Holness last month. At that time, Holness told the House of Representatives that the figure would likely increase.

The prime minister, in an update in the House on Tuesday, provided a more detailed breakdown of the figure.

The breakdown shows that the cost to reopen the affected roads and improve the driving conditions is estimated at $359 million, while the cost to undertake permanent works, primarily retaining walls and drainage structures, is estimated at $530 million.

The estimate of the damage shows that the parish of Clarendon, which was the most impacted, suffered an estimated $649.7 million in damage.

A further breakdown of damage by parish shows the following:

St Catherine – $73.9 millionSt Thomas – $59.1 millionTrelawny – $29.5 millionSt Elizabeth – $26 millionKingston – $17.75 millionSt James – $16.7 million

Holness cautioned that the country’s fiscal situation will not allow for all the required works to be done immediately.

“Accordingly, the government is proposing a programme of targeted interventions with priority rankings…” he said.

The ranking speaks to the reopening of blocked roads, which has already been accomplished, the cleaning of critical drains, patching of main thoroughfares that have been scoured, and the construction of new structures, including retaining walls, river training et cetera.

The prime minister said 47 roads were affected by landslides, mudflows, downed trees, or inundation, which rendered some communities inaccessible or marooned.

“I can report that all roads are fully reopened with the exception of Lower Chapelton to Rock River where a breakaway occurred at Sutton in Clarendon,” Holness said.

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