Leader of St Lucia opposition: Storm preparations ‘need revamp’

The leader of the main opposition party in St Lucia is pressing for an urgent rethink on the way Caribbean islands prepare for natural disasters.

Philip J Pierre believes that the growing intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes, as well as the frequency in which they hit, has made this issue a priority.

His comments came less than a week after Hurricane Maria smashed into Dominica, causing at least 27 deaths and damage that runs to billions of dollars.

“We cannot sit around hoping that our turn never comes, the St Lucia Labour Party leader said.

“We must be proactive.”

The St Lucia government should increase the annual budgetary allocation for storm preparedness and mitigation to reflect the “new reality manifested in the recent experiences of our sister Caribbean islands”, Pierre suggests.

In addition to exciting plans to prepare for disasters, the SLP leader suggests trees near homes and buildings should be pruned, essential food and water should be stockpiled, hurricane shelters and roofs should be strengthened.

[caption id="attachment_5976" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Dominica has been left devastated by Hurricane Maria.[/caption]

Hospital generators should be checked, he added. Dominica’s hospital facilities were described as “archaic” by the island’s Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, after flooding forced staff to work without power.

Pierre added that his party is willing to work with the relevant authorities to advocate for the required changes in policy and approach to hurricane preparedness.