BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Federation has received $US3.4M from the IMF’s Emergency Natural Disaster Assistance Programme to assist with recovery from Hurricane Omar.
The hurricane passed 100 miles north of the Federation in the pre-dawn hours of October 17, 2008 and resulted in the destruction of several coastal properties and severe road damage, most notably at Old Road Bay, where tall trees blocked the road and large boulders tumbled from the hill onto the roadway.
Even more significantly, the storm caused major damage to the Four Seasons Resort in Nevis, resulting in its temporary closure. Since then, over 600 persons have been laid off and the NIA estimates it has lost EC$20M in direct revenues.
Acting Chair of the IMF Murilo Portugal issued a statement following the decision. He noted that although Omar had resulted in “an adverse balance of payments ratio”, with “prudent policies” and an agenda focused on reform, the Federation’s economy would rebound in the near future.
“The damage caused by Hurricane Omar has resulted in substantial loss of employment and great hardship to St. Kitts and Nevis. In particular, Nevis has suffered the temporary closure of its largest tourism resort. The adverse balance of payments impact of the hurricane has been compounded by the global recession and the collapse of the Trinidad and Tobago-based CL Financial Group.
“While the global downturn and the Federation’s heavy debt burden are likely to weigh heavily on near-term growth, the authorities’ implementation of prudent policies and their reform agenda, together with support from the international community, should help St. Kitts and Nevis recover from the setbacks caused by the hurricane and place the economy on a path of sustainable, strong growth,” Portugal stated.
The assistance comes on the heels of a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that predicts a “near normal” hurricane season. It states there is a 70 percent probability that nine to 14 tropical storms will be formed from June to September, with around seven of them intensifying to hurricane strength.
The 2008 hurricane season was the most active in 60 years, with 16 tropical storms and eight hurricanes, of which five were considered major hurricanes.
