The DLP administration has commissioned a new regional emergency shelter in Castle Bruce as an indication of national preparedness against the fast-approaching 2022 hurricane season. At the commissioning event were the Barbadian head of delegation to the European Union, representatives of the OECS and CARICOM as well as top government functionaries.
PM Roosevelt Skerrit said the commissioning of the Castle Bruce regional emergency shelter and the earlier commissioning of the one in Jimmit represents the government’s resolve to protect lives and property during hurricane events. He emphasized that his administration continuously engages in climate planning, resource allocation, community training, and disaster responses to tackle the effects of climate change and prevent natural disasters.
The upgrades of climate-smart health centres and construction of modern health and wellness centres in several villages, the banning of single-use plastics in 2019 by an Act of Parliament, and the construction of hundreds of climate-resilient homes across Dominica, all speak to our determination to avoid the severe consequences of another hurricane on lives and livelihoods.
Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Dominica
The DLP leader added that the government also approved building codes to promote construction designs that are climate-resilient and environmentally-friendly with the ultimate objective of reducing the potential impacts of any natural disaster in Dominica. He said the building codes regulation furthers the government’s Build Back Better (BBB) plan to environmental safety.
He said Dominica is also committed to becoming the first country in the world that is fully climate-resilient since the devastation of Hurricane Maria in September 2017.
In Dominica, we have suffered the worst of climate change and know that we must become more resilient to those effects which now seem inevitable and unavoidable. In the immediate aftermath of the life-changing disaster, I as prime minister of Dominica committed our small island nation to the compelling vision of becoming the first climate-resilient nation in the world by 2030.
Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Dominica
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Joann Commodore, commended the government for the new hurricane shelters in Castle Bruce and Jimmit and said it will go a long way to safeguarding the nation against the devastating effects of hurricanes. Parliamentary Representative for Mahaut Constituency, Rayburn Blackmoore, said the Jimmit shelter will house 500 people and thanked the government for the initiative.
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