Hurricane Beryl destroyed 149 homes in the Southern Grenadines when it tracked through the area as a category 4 cyclone on July 1, 2024.
This is the latest figure that Minister of Housing, Orande Brewster presented to Parliament as he responded to questions from Southern Grenadines MP, Terrance Ollivierre, an opposition lawmaker.
Brewster told Parliament that 149 houses “were completely destroyed, meaning that they were flattened.
“We have to rebuild those from scratch,” he said, adding that the number “can go upwards, not downwards, because, as mentioned before, based on the levels, sometimes, we may assess a building as level 3 but when you get to do actual work on that building, we may have to pull down the entire building.”
He said the government would be using different types of building materials and construction methods to replace the houses that were destroyed by Hurricane Beryl.
The housing minister said work has commenced on rebuilding the houses with the traditional brick and mortar.
However, the government is exploring different types of construction materials and methods to replace houses that were destroyed.
“We have set an ambitious goal of 1,000 homes for this year and in order to get to that number, we have to look at the different methods and construction materials available.”
Brewster said several entities have offered various materials and methods which range from precast concrete slabs to containerised homes and even steel frame homes.
“And from those offerings, the government found it fit, through experience and the history we had with the Sai Baba group out of Trinidad,” he said.
Those houses are similar to ones constructed at Orange Hill for people who lost their homes because of the April 2021 eruption of La Soufriere volcano.
“So, we are moving forward with that option, and we also have good history with DuraVilla out of Guyana. So those are the two options that we are moving forward with as it pertains to different methods of building.”
He said the government was hoping to get 300 houses from Steel Framed Engineered Solution Ltd., and another 50 from the Sai Baba group, both based in Trinidad.
“And this will be supplemented with, as I mentioned before, our traditional brick and mortar,” Brewster said, adding that the government was continuing to explore other options to help very quickly with the repairs.
“I want to mention very briefly that we have a technical mission to Carriacou because the method that we used in Orange Hill can be done in a quicker time frame,” Brewster said.
He said the government has engaged that Trinidadian company.
“And from initial discussions, it would take from foundation to completion of one of these homes approximately two weeks, maximum.”
He said the government has started the reconstruction of the houses that were destroyed, adding that work on 35 of those in Union Island started on March 3.
“There’s a remnant of about 12 or so left on Mayreau and they have started that process as well,” Brewster said.
He told Parliament it would be “very difficult” to give a completion date, adding, “but I can assure the people of the Grenadines that we are moving very swiftly and very quickly to make sure that we get them back to their level of comfort”.
The housing minister said that in the interim, the displaced people are in proper accommodations for which we are paying substantial amounts of money.
“We have prioritised, as mentioned before, those who are in shelters and those who are the elderly so that we can get them back.”
Responding to a question from Opposition Leader Godwin Friday, Brewster said he could not say definitely whether the government was still giving food packages to the displaced people from the Southern Grenadines who are living in St. Vincent.
“I know they were at one point, and then I visited, a couple of them said they were not,” Friday said.
“…I know that we have been offering income support for those who are affected, and I don’t know specifically if we are doing the food boxes, but I can’t answer for the other minister, but I know we have been providing support,” Brewster.
‘level 3 is not far from completely destroyed’
In his response to Ollivierre’s questions, Brewster said that level 3 and 4 damage “is the same thing…. Level 4 is completely destroyed; level 3 is not far from completely destroyed”.
He said that in Canouan, there were 42 such houses in the level 3 and 4 categories, of which 30 were wooden structures and 12 were concrete structures.
On Union Island, the initial number was 85 but this has since increased to 91 as of the last report at the beginning of this March.
Brewster said 22 houses on Mayreau were categorised as having sustained level 3 and 4 damage.
He said homeowners were consulted and 35 houses were under construction at the time of answering the question.
“There are about nine that have been completed already on the level 3 and 4,” Brewster told Parliament.
“And I again want to emphasise that we cannot sometimes pin down level 3, because there’s always — you go in at a level 3, and we may have to pull it down; it’s a level 4.”
Brewster said there were no completion date in sight.
“I’ve expressed before, it’s a lot of homes that we have to build. It’s over 1,000 homes. It’s not only in the Southern Grenadines, but we are putting priority in the southern Grenadines, and we are going to try to complete these homes as soon as we can,” the housing minister said.
It’s interesting to note that the numbers quoted do not add up. It’s also interesting to note that any plan Mr. Brewster may have does not include a timeline, which is certainly disappointing more than eight months after Beryl’s visit. I take issue with the statement that “the displaced people are in proper accommodations for which we are paying substantial amounts of money.” Given the facts, a statement like this does not enhance the Minister’s credibility. In fact, many have been given shelter by family members, friends or neighbours who have neither asked for nor received any payment whatsoever, as is the case with the family of five who have been sheltering in our one-bedroom apartment.