One hundred and fifty Dominican families will benefit from Hurricane 5 resistant housing in Grand Fond, Delices, La Plaine, and Jimmit in the next two weeks. This was revealed by the Minister of Housing, Reginald Austrie, who said the unique houses will contain a hurricane shelter for rare storm cases.
Given that Hurricane Maria destroyed many houses in the country in 2018, the minister said no family should be homeless this time around with the approaching hurricane season. He added that in the rare case of a hurricane, the added hurricane shelter can accommodate up to 60 people to ensure their safety from the storm.
“We are now approaching the hurricane season and many of these buildings were built with the hurricane in mind,” Austrie said. “As you know that this part of the country received a serious beating from Hurricane Maria and we are ensuring that the quality of housing will be able to withstand at least a Category 5 Hurricane.”
As soon as the completed housing is handed over to the 150 families in Grand Fond, Delices, La Plaine, and Jimmit, Austrie said the government will turn attention to other parts of the island such as Roseau Central to construct new housing units for the residents.
Meanwhile, the minister stated that officials of the Ministry of Housing will begin to evaluate every house in the country to determine their strength against the approaching hurricane season. He made it clear that housing officials have been instructed “to go out there and to look at every single house in this country and to ensure that they are fit and prepared for the hurricane.”
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