That repairs to eight main hurricane- and five recovery-shelters are expected to be completed before the height of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season (see related story) is most welcome. Mind you, actual work on the two separate projects involved is yet to be begin, while the season for tropical weather systems starts less than a month from now.
However, August and September are considered the peak months, followed by July and October. It would therefore be prudent to at least finish the job by the end of June.
In addition to reviving its tourism economy, enhancing the country’s resilience to natural disasters remains crucial and having shelters in good condition is a significant ingredient of that effort. An added benefit is, of course, that these structures also serve other purposes.
Monday’s news that reconstruction of the airport roof is on track to meet the end-of-May deadline is equally good. The result probably won’t be very noticeable to most travellers passing through the facility, but this matter is of the utmost importance going forward.
After all, it makes little sense to put US $100 million or more into revamping the terminal if the next major storm of a similar magnitude again causes water leakage and damages what has just been fixed. Of course, nobody is hoping for another such a devastating hit anytime soon, but it’s a potential reality that cannot be ignored at this point.
Once under a secure roof, the interior’s rebuilding process should be initiated as quickly as possible so that the destination may soon proudly make use of a main gateway restored to its full former glory and then some.
