It will cost $1.2 million to rebuild 8 low-income houses: Dr William Duguid

The destruction caused due to Thursday’s freak storm that also affects many houses, uprooted many trees, roofs of many houses flown away, water supply got disturbed, and the blackout was also the main problem faced by the citizens of Barbados. The cost of the repair of the 8 low-income houses would be $1.2 million.

The revelation came Friday afternoon from Minister of Transport, Works and Maintenance Dr William Duguid following a damage assessment meeting involving personnel from the Barbados Defence Force (BDF), the Buildings Unit in the Ministry of Housing and Lands, the Urban Development Commission (UDC), the Rural Development Commission (RDC), the National Housing Corporation (NHC) and the Department of Emergency Management (DEM).

Dr Duguid said that if they assess and that eight increases, then that would go up a little higher. In terms of roofs, some roofs have just half a roof. Some were a quarter, and some might have u-panels, some might have the corrugated panel. So that wasn’t easy to give them a dollar value on the roofs cause it had a lot to do with the assessment.

He said Government was also assessing what material is needed for homes which only require material and that work had already started to gather the material.

The Cabinet Minister also revealed that the Welfare Department has been carrying out its own estimate to determine what other needs people have.

Dr Duguid explained that while in some cases neighbours, friends and relatives have taken in people whose homes were destroyed, the Government was also trying to find temporary accommodation for “one or two” as well.

Every time that we’ve variety, somebody calls in, then another one adds in. But the last count was about 35. We are going out assessing everything, obviously. We try to encourage people to try to their own with the material.