St. Elizabeth shelter damage raises fresh hurricane readiness concerns

Concerns are mounting in St. Elizabeth over whether the parish has a clear and coordinated plan to protect residents if another hurricane or tropical storm affects the area.

The issue was raised in discussion about disaster readiness across constituencies, with attention focused on whether people in the parish have been told what arrangements are in place to deal with continuing problems.

Confidence in a parish-wide plan appears limited. The concern is based in part on recent comments attributed to the mayor, who reportedly said he was losing sleep because St. Elizabeth was not prepared for another major weather event, or even a tropical storm.

Those remarks have added to worries that recovery work remains uneven and that the parish does not yet have a targeted response programme. The mayor was also said to have indicated that more than half of the shelters in St. Elizabeth are not ready to accommodate residents.

Many of the facilities remain without roofs or are otherwise in a condition that would prevent them from serving their intended emergency purpose. That has deepened unease about where vulnerable residents would go if severe weather again threatens the parish.

Questions also remain over broader rebuilding proposals. While Parliament has heard references to plans for a new city in Black River, there has been no clear public explanation of the concept, design or scale of that project.

The discussion also pointed to the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority, with Cabinet said to be identifying priority projects. It is expected that St. Elizabeth would be included, but the details of what the parish would receive, and when, remain unclear from the transcript.