A total of 57 families received the keys to their climate-resilient houses in Dominica, and they come just in time to provide safer shelter for a possibly “above-average” hurricane activity this year.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted a 65 percent chance of an above-normal season this 2022, “a likely range of 14 to 21 named storms of which 6 to 10 could become hurricanes, including 3 to 6 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5).”
“NOAA predicts a 65% chance of an above-normal season, a likely range of 14 to 21 named storms of which 6 to 10 could become hurricanes, including 3 to 6 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5),” the NOAA stated in a recent press release.
According to a press release, the houses were part of the Housing Recovery Project funded by the World Bank following the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017.
“We have these families who are no longer in a vulnerable state… and so this is a major investment,” Dominica’s prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit said in his speech during the recently held handover ceremony.
Skerrit also revealed that under World Bank’s funding, 118 more houses will be further built and given to families who lost their homes to Maria and Typhoon Erika in 2015.
Dominica’s Housing Recovery Project Manager Nicholas Bruno said the construction has not been easy because of factors that are out of their control. “Many challenges are being experienced, inclusive of rising prices of building materials, shortage of essential materials, and difficulties in accessing some sites,” he said.
The island is aiming to become the world’s first climate-resilient nation, and in order to do that the government has rolled out massive projects in the housing, education, health, and transportation sectors funded by a number of international institutions and programmes.
Dominica zeroed in on its Housing Revolution, determined to provide safer homes on an island that is frequently visited by typhoons and hurricanes.
Apart from the various housing projects funded by different organizations like the World Bank, the Government has made use of funds generated by its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme to build climate-resilient homes across the islands under the Housing Revolution project.
So far, over a dozen housing projects developed by MMC Development Ltd., have been completed and turned over to residents. The housing units are built with reinforced concrete, impact-resistant windows, and solar water heating features. Further, the Government has mandated MMC Development Ltd to oversee the new housing initiatives to be constructed by local contractors.
“Most housing units for the new developments will be standalone three-bedroom housing units, with ample spaces,” said MMC Development Ltd CEO Anthony Haiden.
Haiden also noted that they continue to provide sustainable solutions that are tailored according to the recognized challenges associated with each development.
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