ECLAC disaster assessment to Bahamas in the wake of Irma

ECLAC Caribbean has dispatched a team of disaster assessment experts to the Bahamas to conduct a weeklong assessment exercise, in the wake of hurricanes Irma and Maria that dealt the islands a powerful one-two punch.

Led by the Coordinator of the Sustainable Development and Disaster Unit, Omar Bello, the team will take a close look at the impact of these hurricanes on the Bahamas’ health, education, housing, power, telecommunications, transportation, fishing and tourism sectors. The ECLAC team will visit a number of

Islands affected by the storms, including Ragged Island, Aklins, Inagua, Grand Bahama and Bimini.

This assessment exercise is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and is the third such assessment for the Bahamas. ECLAC Caribbean conducted a similar assessment following Hurricane Matthew last year, and Hurricane Joaquin in 2015.

The mission to the Bahamas will be the first of many DALA missions that will be conducted across the Caribbean on the request of ECLAC member governments, following the devastation wrought by Irma and Maria on numerous islands, including Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos islands and most recently Dominica, Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico.