Jamaica: Govt allocates $1B to restore housing sector devastated by Beryl

Jamaica: Prime Minister and the Minister responsible for Housing Andrew Holness has announced that his government will be allocating $1 Billion towards house restoration, reconstruction, and relocation efforts. 

According to the information, more than 5153 houses have been affected on the island nation due to Hurricane Beryl. This devastation left several families without ideal shelter based on the government’s estimates to date. 

While assuring the affected individuals that they will soon be provided with houses, PM Holness said, “Your Government is working to ensure that we provide aid and support for those most affected.”

The government also shared the statistics showing that of these 5153 houses, 321 were completely destroyed, 2121 were severely damaged while 2711 sustained minor damages. 

Of all the parishes, Clarendon faced the most impact from the Hurricane, which had sustained winds of over 150 mph. In this area only, 133 houses were destroyed, while 617 were severely damaged. 

Not only this, but the National Housing Trust is also taking decisive action to support those hit hardest by Hurricane Beryl and to strengthen the communities against future disasters. 

While announcing this, Andrew Holness remarked, “NHT has a multi-pronged response to support the immediate recovery efforts for persons directly impacted by burial and to bolster the long-term disaster resilience of communities.”

He said that multiples measures have been introduced to aid recovery and boost long term resilience and these include Peril Insurance for NHT Mortgagers, Moratorium for NHT Mortgagers, Special Home Improvement Loan for Roof and Home Repair and Special Home Grant. 

All these measures are aimed at easing the people deeply affected by the Hurricane and to help them come out of their misery in this tough time. This will also offer individuals with financial assistance to help repair and improve damaged homes.

The Prime Minister said that his government is committed to standing with the impacted families through this challenging time and helping the communities to rebuild stronger than ever.