Fewer Dominicans will need hurricane shelter accommodation this year says Local Government Commissioner

Multi-purpose Emergency Shelter at Layou

The number of people who will require accommodation in hurricane shelters has decreased this year.

According to Local Government Commissioner, Glenroy Toussaint, the number had dropped by 679 from last year.

Toussaint was a guest on Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit’s Annou Pale talk show on the weekend.

The Atlantic Hurricane Season extends officially from June 1 to November 30, annually.

“We are certainly well advanced. If you were to compare the 13th of June of 2020 and the 13th of June 2021 we are well advanced,” Toussaint said. “The first thing that we had to do was an assessment of the vulnerable people who were required to be sheltered. We did that assessment and of course and we found out that 3921 people need to be sheltered, that is compared to 4600 last year, so we have seen a decrease of 679 persons to be accommodated.”

He attributed the drop to “the extensive government housing programme” where a number of individuals and families were assisted to improve their homes while others built back better.

“Secondly, we have the apartment buildings where vulnerable persons were accommodated,” the local government official stated. “We also had the neighbourhood approach where people out of their good heart and their good minds seem to assist each other, and so we have seen a drastic decline in the number of people who need to be sheltered.”

Toussaint also added that the vulnerability assessment clearly indicated that in some of the communities, the houses are ok, but the location is problematic.

For instance, he said there are many good homes in Coulibistrie but their proximity to the river require that they be  relocated.

“Colihaut is the same,” he pointed out. “[In] both communities you have schools that were renovated, but because of its location we can’t use the facilities as emergency shelters.”

Toussaint is encouraging the people who will be using the shelters to follow the necessary protocols put in place by the Ministry of Health.

“We have our shelter rules. Everyone coming to the centre is required to wear a mask; that’s mandatory…,” Toussaint stated. “We are still looking at spacing, between 3 to 4 feet, as much as possible, to have families together at the shelters.”

He is calling on the general public to cooperate.

He said masks will be provided at the shelters, but only for the most vulnerable.

Toussaint is also encouraging people to get vaccinated.

“We are encouraging persons when they are coming to the shelters, please bring in their vaccination cards,” he said. “Because we need to record whether you are vaccinated so that we can better prepare individuals and families.”

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8 Comments

  1. Geothermal or Bust
    June 21, 2021

    Great for the island(s). This building should be covered with SOLAR PANELS removable or stored, that’s elementary, a no-brainer and I hope soon; otherwise, tell us who kept the “change “.

    It’s better than nothing but it’s either financed by outside entity or a “World bank” loan with post disaster in mind. We are grateful but we can’t keep accepting mediocre when much better can be done from the beginning. WHERE ARE THE SOLAR PANELS?

  2. Roger Burnett
    June 19, 2021

    Can’t our architects do better than the slab-sided brutalist structure at Layou?

  3. %
    June 17, 2021

    Toussaint should also have added there are several Dominicans who never got assistance from this DLP, because of their political affiliation, as king liar Skerrit believes his wicked rule over Dominica should be unchallenged…Therefore 4 years after hurricane Maria, some people are still living under tarpaulin, while the liar has people paying EC$64 000.00 a month for him to allegedly live in his own house.
    Choksi’s saga has taught me that “”Truth crushed to earth will rise again””, and No lie will live for ever””( not my quotes).

  4. dissident
    June 17, 2021

    That number could have doubled if the young men sitting by the road on the block were employed…..does CREAD have any input in any of these projects?

    • Gallelio
      June 17, 2021

      This a positive and we all should be happy. Change is incremental especially in small economies like ours. We do not expect everything to be done in one year. We are getting there.

    • dissident
      June 18, 2021

      A poor man is better off than a liar

    • If we knew better
      June 18, 2021

      The international experts who were first hired to lead CREAD and Dominica to actually being the first climate change resilient nation have all left. They have all cited issues of corruption and mal governance. Currently, Francine Baron, Minister of Parliament heads CREAD. She is a lawyer and minister of foreign affairs. WTH does she know about the technical intricacies of engineering and sustainable national development. If these people are not given a hymn sheet to sing from they doesnt know what to tell the people of Dominica. CREAD? more like BLEED.

  5. I Wonder
    June 17, 2021

    Mr. Toussaint? Mr. Toussaint? It seems to me you have crossed the line from public officer to politician with this statement: He attributed the drop to “the extensive government housing programme” where a number of individuals and families were assisted to improve their homes while others built back better.

    The true test will come when the rain falls and the winds blow. The kinds of stories I have heard about these apartment buildings leaves me to wonder …

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