Grenada to bounce back with improved building codes and standards Post-Beryl

Severe destruction caused by Hurricane Beryl in the regions of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, has raised the issue of improving the building codes of the Island as many residences were flattened by the storm.

Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, while briefing the media, said that the disaster will have a deep impact on the economy of the tri-island Nation as the country has suffered a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars further the effort to rebuild the nation will again cost hundreds of millions.

The State of Emergency imposed on Carriacou and Petite Martinique was lifted on Tuesday July 9, however the northern part of the Carriacou, Grenada and Petite Martinique have been declared to be disaster zones. PM Mitchell visited Carriacou and Petite Martinique around the weekend.

He said that most part of the regions are without power due to which many will have to face issues that include mosquitoes, rain, sun and many such, until the government’s actions help to bring the situation back to normalcy. The government has continued to provide support to the National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA) to assist the donor agencies and volunteers to bring the supplies, this will continue for the next few weeks.

PM Mitchell stated that the rebuilding process of the houses and structures must have durability factors infused into it. He further stated the rebuilding or repair of old buildings and while building new ones, compliance with strict codes that that would lead to minimised losses caused by hurricanes or similar natural disasters must be ensured.

He noted that Beryl exposed various of the substandard and poor constructions along with some of the newly constructed buildings, have roused the factor to improve the building standards and codes.

In Carriacou, Regional Security System (RSS) governed soldiers from the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force along with eight soldiers from the Guyana Defence Force have arrived to assist the building phase and to support the process of relief distribution.

The Prime Minister stated that additional soldiers are expected to arrive the following week from Guyana. The soldiers will be here to assist the identification of large buildings and residences that could be temporarily repaired to ensure accommodation for additional citizens and relief workers.