Union Island woman frustrated even as government plans to fix every home

Hundreds of persons affected by the passage of Hurricane Beryl are still displeased with the government which has vowed to fix or rebuild “every” home affected by the disaster that struck on July 1.

One displaced resident who lost her house during passage of the category 1 storm said she is frustrated and asked the question on Monday, “when will the help reach me?”

The woman said she and her family have been relocated to the mainland with support from an entity she did not want to mention.

She said also that she did not wish to give her name, citing a charged political climate in the country, but stressed to SEARCHLIGHT that she is fed up waiting for help.

She said she has not been told when she would be able to return home and her family is not the only family that is in limbo.

“This is stressful. We don’t know when we will be able to go back, and we want to go back. This is not easy being away from your home like this,” the woman, who has been relocated to a community in East St. George said on Monday, November 4.

She said she has not received any assistance from the government and she is hoping to hear “very soon” an update on the situation.

This woman is one of hundreds of affected residents particularly in the southern Grenadines who are waiting on the government for assistance as Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has announced in a bold move, to fix or rebuild every home damaged by natural disasters in the country including the volcanic eruptions in 2021.

During his address at the 45th Independence parade at Victoria Park on October 27, the Prime Minister announced several initiatives in relation to persons affected by Hurricane Beryl.

He described the current effort post- Beryl as a massive, ongoing expenditure for relief, recovery, and reconstruction, and said the hurricane caused in excess of EC$800 million in damage, half of which is in the area of housing.

“The actual economic loss is, of course, way above that figure, amounting to some 30 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). We are doing mighty deeds at present and mighty deeds are in the offing,” Dr Gonsalves said.

Among these mighty deeds, is the government’s plan to rebuild and reconstruct every single home damaged by the hurricane, but the Prime Minister said in his October 27 address that the recovery and reconstruction in the aftermath of Beryl has stretched the country’s resources to breaking point, including the lack of a sufficiency of workers and contractors to do all that is required including execution of the pre-existing and imminent roll-out of major capital projects.

“The government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines thanks our international partners- bilateral and multilateral, for their support. However, we need far more support especially to address the housing needs of 4993 families or 19,444 persons directly affected by Beryl’s devastation,” Dr Gonsalves said.

He also noted that as at October 23, 2024, there were 550 persons still in shelters and 558 in tourist accommodation.

“These persons in clusters of roughly 350 families, have had their houses severely damaged or destroyed. Other similar families are in private accommodation of their friends and families.”

He noted that thus far, the Ministry of Housing has addressed the housing needs of 1446 households, or just over one-quarter of the affected households.

“These households have had their houses rebuilt, or are in the process of being rebuilt, or have received material assistance for self-help. Significant progress has been made in the area

of housing in Canouan, Mayreau, Bequia, and other parts of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but progress in this respect has been lagging in Union Island because of the nature of the devastation wrought there,” Dr Gonsalves stressed.

However, despite the promise to fix every home, the Prime Minister said individual home-owners have an obligation to be actively engaged in their rebuilding, to the extent of their respective individual means and capacities.

“This government is the first in our history to take up the responsibility to lead the process of ensuring the actual repair or rebuilding of each damaged or destroyed house. But it cannot reasonably be left to the government alone,” Dr. Gonsalves pointed out.