Jamaica: A total of 500 homes were destroyed by Hurricane Beryl in Jamaica due to which “New Social Housing Programme” came into force. Under the programme, the government allocated $1billion budget for the rebuilding of the homes and providing new roofs to the people who lost their residences.
As per the estimates, there are several thousand houses that faced severe or minor damage due to the Beryl, leaving a disrupting impact on the citizens. Due to this, the new housing programme is designed to help those affected so that they can rebuild their lives with dignity, restore their sense of security and regain their independence.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness said that the new housing programme will provide homes to the people, aiming to assist them in the tough times when nature’s fury hit hard.
In order to determine the deserving beneficiaries, a proper social work assessments and analyses will be conducted to provide necessary assistance through the programme. The beneficiaries will include those who would not be able to rebuild on their own, including elderly, indigent people, families with many young children where the parents have no means of restoring those homes and those with disabilities.
Under the housing programme, out of $1billion, the rebuilding of the houses that were destroyed during Beryl will be completed with $400,000. On the other hand, $150,000 will be allocated for the houses that were severely damaged and $50,000 for those with minor damage.
In these cases, additional support will also be offered by the programme for rebuilding purposes. Prime Minister Holness announced the initiative after Jamaica was hard hit by Hurricane Beryl in June 2024.
During the destruction, the citizens and residents reacted to the situation and asserted that this is not the new thing for them as every year, they faces fear, anxiety during these times as threat started looming over them due to the weather conditions.
One shopkeeper who lost his shop in the destruction added, ”This is misery for us as we are now unable to rebuild because I have lost my means of rebuilding. This is quite disturbing for me and my family.”
Another resident whose house was severely damaged due to the high wind and storm, noted,” Now, where will I take my family for accommodation, the house is destroyed, the water is inside, what will I do, this is unbearable, I don’t understand why this happens with us.”
Hurricane Beryl
The passage of Hurricane Beryl has completed one month, but the affected countries are still struggling in their rebuilding agenda. Due to climate change, rising sea levels, and emission of carbon footprints, the conditions of the weather have been fluctuating and causing such hurricanes in this period of time.
However, the small island states are on the forefront to face the brunt of such weather conditions due to which the countries have been facing these situations especially during the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
