BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – PRIME MINISTER Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris is encouraging citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis to learn from Hurricane Irma and have a brighter outlook on things.
Dr. Harris, who was a guest on Sugar City FM’s radio programme ‘The People’s Voice’ yesterday (Sept. 11), called for volunteerism to better recover from the damage across St. Kitts caused by the hurricane.
The Prime Minister said: “I would want to encourage our citizens and residents from this experience, let us emerge better and brighter in our outlook; better in terms of our own compassion one to another, our respect and concern for the elderly, for those who are less fortunate and our willingness to use our energies for the greater national good.”
He pointed out that with the country in recovery mode there would be work for people to do.
Stressing that there is a great opportunity for volunteerism to come again to the fore, PM Harris commended those individuals who went beyond the call of duty to ensure the damage and impact were minimally in most areas, adding that in others they mitigate against major problems.
“I want to hail and to commend the selfless service of those in our security forces who dared rough weather, stormy weather, and indeed dangerous weather to be out in the streets making themselves available for rescue efforts, for evacuation of those whose homes were compromised – in Keys, in Conaree, in Molineaux.
“I want to give a big thank you to our security forces in particular, who kept the streets safe in midst and aftermath of the storm.”
In the aftermath, Dr. Harris said he was impressed with the response from the Fire and Rescue Services, which was out clearing the roads so that in quick time St. Kitts and Nevis became passable.
This is stark contrast to what happened elsewhere, Dr. Harris said, emphasizing that it highlighted how fortunate “we ourselves have been and how thankful we are of the efforts of those who facilitated”.
St. Kitts and Nevis, like a number of other islands in the Caribbean, was hit by Hurricane Irma, but the Federation only sustained minor damage.
According to official reports, no loss of life was recorded, however, there was damage to several houses in St. Kitts as well as downed trees and power lines.
In Anguilla and Barbuda, many homes and buildings were completely destroyed, while in other islands the number of deaths have been climbing as people continue to hunt for food and shelter.
