Five thousand low-income householders stand to benefit from the first tranche of hurricane straps being distributed to assist them to firmly secure their roofs ahead of the hurricane season, which starts in June.
Senior Minister with responsibility for coordinating infrastructural projects, Dr. William Duguid, gave details on the procurement and distribution programme for the straps, which he said was one of the most pressing matters discussed and agreed to at Cabinet.
Speaking at a post-Cabinet press briefing at Parliament, today, Dr. Duguid said the kits, at a cost of $250 each, would be distributed under the current Catastrophe Fund legislation to householders in the $25,000 or below income bracket and whose homes were 75 per cent wooden structures.
Dr. Duguid explained how the procurement and distribution of the kits, containing hurricane straps, screws and ties, would be done.
“What we have agreed to do is that the Ministry of Housing will procure hurricane strap kits, that is essentially four hurricane straps, with the screws needed to be able to attach them…. It (hurricane strap) goes on essentially to the rafters and to the ring beam and it helps to hold the rafter of your roof down,” he underlined.
Dr. Duguid continued: “And you put on four of these, four corners of the house, together with what’s called a cross beam. Now it isn’t absolutely that they will save every single roof, but it will significantly add to the resilience of your roof, should we have a hurricane event pass through our area…. What we intend to do, once the straps are procured, by using funds from the Catastrophe Fund, that procured material will then be sent over to the DEM, and they will be pressing the DEOs and others to distribute these to those that are below the poverty line.”
The Senior Minister also encouraged homeowners above the poverty line to take advantage of this opportunity to add straps to their house, pointing out that they help to keep the roof connected to the rest of the house, thereby making their investment more resilient to climatic events.
Dr. Duguid also stressed that public service announcement videos would be produced showing householders how to install the straps, while checks would be made to ensure that the straps are fastened correctly.
He also said that assistance would be provided to those who are unable to put on the straps. The Minister added that he hoped to ramp up the distribution to 10,000 kits over time, once an assessment of the first 5,000 had been done.