Hurricane Beryl costs Tobago $592,000

Tobago Correspondent

Hurricane Beryl has cost Tobago $.5 million in rehabilitation works since its impact two months ago. Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) director Allan Stewart says repairs to homes alone cost approximately $78,000.

In a sit-down interview yesterday at TEMA’s Bacolet headquarters, Stewart said, “When we look at the overall cost as of the 16th of last month, we recognise that it totals $592,000.”

The figure includes $36,350 for catered meals, more than $400,000 for building materials for repairs and $77,691.88 in hampers for affected families.

There were 91 reports of fallen trees, 16 blocked roads, 11 instances of structural damage, and 24 reports of damaged T&TEC utility lines.

Stewart said the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) made approximately $2.5 million available.

He said the island is now 85 per cent restored and predicts that it will take three weeks for outstanding works on damaged homes to be completed.

From midnight on June 30 to July 1, tropical-storm-force winds from Hurricane Beryl affected eastern and northern Tobago, damaging 71 roofs and affecting 35 people from eight families. No injuries or deaths were reported.

Within hours of the heavy rain and winds, landslides and fallen trees left hundreds without water and electricity for two days. A large tree blocked Hermitage Road, preventing access to Charlotteville, the most significant disruption caused by the strong winds.

Stewart said there are still 37 homes to be repaired.

“The damage assessment revealed that these homes are not just about putting back on the roofs, so the Division of Settlement is looking into those reports and treating them in a particular way,” he explained.

“The division would need to decide if these homes need to be demolished and rebuilt.”

Eight weeks after the hurricane’s passage, all that’s left in affected areas is dried debris from fallen trees.

A Bloody Bay resident said he was happy the island was spared.

“It wasn’t bad for me and my family. We had no current because some poles fell down the road, but that was about it. We better say thank God the eye didn’t pass over,” he said.

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