PIOJ conducting detailed assessment of Hurricane Melissa damage

 

The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) is conducting a detailed assessment of the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa to the Jamaican economy. 

 

Director General of the PIOJ Dr. Wayne Henry along with government ministers Matthew Samuda and Floyd Green on Thursday toured sections of St. Elizabeth ravaged by the storm. 

 

In an interview with Radio Jamaica News, Dr. Henry disclosed the PIOJ, which chairs the Recovery Planning Committee, is still collecting data to determine the extent of the damage to the economy. 

 

"So we've had preliminary assessments that told us it's about US$8.8 million is the sort of physical damage. The teams on the ground now will be  doing a detailed assessment where we do what we call groud-truthing. We go and interview people, we look at the physical damage and then we add also what we call economic losses. People have lost revenue, lost incomes, industries that have collapsed and building back. We are factoring that in and so we'll get a true sense of the full picture. So, for example, when you say Hurricane Beryl cost the country $57 billion, it was a result of that detailed damage assessment," he explained.

 

Dr. Henry also disclosed that overseas experts, including from the United Nations, are assisting the PIOJ in the assessment exercise, which will help guide the country's full recovery process. 

 

Thousands of farms, farm produce and livestock were destroyed in the storm, putting a strain on the country's food security. 

 

More than 100,000 homes and structures were damaged leaving thousands of Jamaicans homeless.