Jamaica: Building back Better, Government initiative for hurricane-resilient homes using roof straps

The Government of Jamaica is putting out the word that hurricane straps should be a feature of roofs to be constructed following Hurricane Beryl, which although did not cause much damage but reminded the country of its vulnerability.

The Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, in partnership with the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), staged the Hurricane Roof Strap Expo on Friday at JAG Myers Park in Black River, St Elizabeth.

Hurricane straps are those metal connectors installed during construction to prevent roof blow-offs. Minister of Local Government, Desmond McKenzie said the citizens had to be educated about utilizing such straps because particularly the ones in the hardest-hit areas by Hurricane Beryl would reap the benefits.

“What we are doing here in Black River is the first in a series [to show] what the Government is doing and what the residents themselves can do in order to prevent certain damage during the hurricane season,” McKenzie stated to the media.

He disclosed that ODPEM had launched a project called Resilient Roofing in 2008, which involved the process of installing hurricane straps. The project is being relaunched to inculcate proper rebuilding practices among Jamaicans.

Minister McKenzie told citizens that natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, land slippage, and drought are common in Jamaica, so they should become more disaster conscious. In the meantime, Acting Director General of ODPEM, Richard Thompson tried to explain that the Resilient Roofing Project started after Tropical Storm Gustav.

He explained that the project was supporting hurricane straps and resilient roof designs, like the hip or gable roofs, which are more appropriate to resist wind damage.

“For hurricane resistance, the preferable option in the roof type is a hip or gable since these will best minimize the influence of wind damage,” said Thompson. He said flat roofs are susceptible to being ripped off by the wind, but depending on the pitch, hip roofs can resist wind forces better.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Mining and Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth South West, Floyd Green, hailed the expo as a “wonderful initiative.” He praised McKenzie and his team for making critical information available to the people directly within the hardest hit parish.

“A number of our citizens are looking to rebuild, are looking to recover, but they need some support and what we want is to ensure that when they rebuild, they build back better,” Green stated. Over 2000 households had their roofs damaged by Hurricane Beryl, so sustainable rebuilding is of the essence.

The Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), HEART/NSTA Trust, Social Development Commission (SDC), and Sherwin Williams were also in attendance at the expo in solidarity with the community’s recovery efforts.