Office of the Chief Minister, The Valley, Anguilla, Friday, October 17,2008

"Anguilla on the way to full recovery"

~~Adz:Right~~ The Valley, Anguilla- Anguilla's restoration efforts in the wake of Hurricane Omar are proceeding well and thecountry is on track for a full recovery shortly. The passage of the hurricane resulted in minor damage to the housing stock of the country and minimal impacts on the physical plant of the tourism infrastructure.

The brunt of the damage was mostly to coastal areas where beaches, which did not have large sand dunes, have been eroded due to heavy wave action. Local shipping assets at the Road Bay Harbour were beached as a result of the stonn surge, and efforts are nowunderway to have them removed. A full assessment of the damage is currently ongoing by the National Disaster Management Committee.

Government services have already been restored, the banking sector is operating at prehurricane capacity, telecommunications have not been interrupted, and the vital construction industry is resuming its activity.

A number of large trees were uprooted due to the soft soil that resulted from many days of rains prior to the hurricane. This condition coupled with the high winds that traversed the island made the toppling of large vegetation a relatively easy feat for Hurricane Omar. Private sector equipment operators, volunteers and Government are jointly cooperating in clean up activities around the island.

The Government of Anguilla anticipates an uninterrupted opening of the tourist season in early November. In this regard we encourage visitors who have made reservation at hotel properties on Anguilla to make contact with them.

We would like to thank God that no lives were lost and that we have largely been spared any major damage as a result of the passage of Hurricane Omar. To all who have sent best wishes to the people of Anguilla during this time we thank you as well. I especially Would like to thank the National Disaster Management Committee and the Anguilla Civil Service ho rose to the occasion and made our country proud in an excellent response to this event.

Osbourne B. Flemming
Chief Minster