$80 Million to Assist Victims of Hurricane Ivan in Northern Parishes

An additional $80 million is to be disbursed to some 7,870 families in Northern parishes, whose homes were severely affected by Hurricane Ivan last September, beginning this week.
Labour and Social Security Minister, Horace Dalley made the announcement during his contribution to the 2005/06 Sectoral Debate in the House, yesterday (May 17).
The Minister said that another 3,000 households in the parishes of Hanover and St. Ann would be assisted with repairs to their homes, under a special United States Agency for International Development (USAID) project.
Mr. Dalley informed that budgetary provisions have also been made for persons slated to receive benefits in the minor damage category, and it was expected that payments to all categories would be completed soon.
So far under the recovery efforts, $439 million in rehabilitation grants have been disbursed to over 46,000 families in southern parishes, whose homes were either totally destroyed or severely damaged.Meanwhile, during the emergency and recovery phases, relief totalling $544 million was provided to the most vulnerable groups islandwide, including PATH beneficiaries and pensioners.
Hurricane Ivan hit the island on Friday, September 10, 2004. It was one of the most devastating hurricanes to hit the island in 16 years, causing extensive damage to the country’s infrastructure and displacing hundreds of families.
Minister Dalley said the efforts made under the reconstruction effort demonstrated the government’s commitment to facilitate the country’s full recovery.