Repairs will take millions says Dominican PM
Epicenter of Sunday's earthquake
Dominica's Prime Minister,
Roosevelt Skerrit
by Norman 'Gus' Thomas
Caribbean Net News Special Regional Correspondent
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands: Dominica's
Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, says that, although he cannot call a "round"
figure as yet, it is going to take millions of dollars to repair the damage
done to his country by the earthquake which shook the 289.9 square mile island
at about 7:40 on Sunday morning.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with
Caribbean Net News following a lengthy meeting with emergency services
officials Monday, the Dominican leader said many individuals have had to
evacuate their homes as a result of the severe structural damage done to many
buildings and dwelling places.
"I can tell you that we were forced to move
the patients from the Portsmouth Hospital into another building and we are now
awaiting word from our engineers to see if we will have to demolish that
building and build a news hospital. “Even
though the people of Dominica are settling down and endeavouring to get their
lives back to normal again, the situation is indeed serious and, from what I
have seen, it is going to take millions of dollars to repair the damaged areas."
Skerrit said that there were over 18 landslides that has caused serious problems
with the road network and "there is one village that has been totally cut off
from the rest of the country and there is also another village called Grand
Fonds that has been locked in since last week Thursday," he said, adding there
are over two and a half dozen severely damaged building, including three damaged
churches.
Skerrit said his government has received
assistance from the Barbados-based Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response
Agency (CDERA) and they will be using a helicopter from the Barbados military
to airlift food packages and aid supplies to the residents in those areas that
have been cut off from the rest of the country.
Meanwhile, follow-up telephone contact with some of the southern Caribbean
islands revealed that one person died on the French-speaking Caribbean island of
Guadeloupe.
Authorities in Basse-Terre told Caribbean
Net News that a three-year-old boy died as result of being crushed when
the side wall of his house collapsed. His mother and sister escaped with
injuries. The incident is the only known
fatality thus far and took place in Trois-Rivieres, located on Guadeloupe's
southern corridor.
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