Minister Charles Jr. Announces Billion Dollar Hurricane Beryl Relief Plan
Corporate Communications and Public Relations Unit,
1F North Street, Kingston
Thursday, July 25, 2024
Minister Charles Jr. Announces Billion Dollar Hurricane Beryl Relief Plan
Labour Minister, the Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., announced a one-Billion-dollar disaster relief plan to assist Jamaicans affected by the recent passage of Hurricane Beryl, which battered southern parishes of the island on July 3. Speaking in the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday, July 24, Minister Charles Jr outlined several measures and new initiatives to support the households impacted by the hurricane.
“Madam Speaker, based on the damage assessments completed so far, we project that approximately 8,700 houses island-wide will require some level of government support for recovery and rebuilding,” Minister Charles Jr stated.
Emergency grants will be provided to homeowners based on the level of damage sustained. Homeowners whose properties suffered minor damage will receive grants of up to $50,000.00, while those with severe damage will receive up to $150,000.00. Householders whose homes were completely destroyed will receive grants of up to $400,000.00.
The Minister noted that assessments are expected to be completed within another two weeks. “We are in the final stages of the household assessment exercise, but we recognize that there may be instances where our teams will need to engage with some remaining households.”
The Minister invited affected persons to contact the Ministry, either through the parish offices or by calling the Customer Contact Centre at 876-922-8000-13. Further he called on fellow Jamaicans to assist in identifying persons who may have been affected by the hurricane but have not yet been assisted or assessed.
Minister Charles Jr also shared that existing social programmes within the Ministry will be leveraged to provide relief to the affected population. Grants will be provided to micro-business operators who have suffered damage to their businesses. Under the, Grants will also be provided to tertiary-level students from severely impacted households through the Social Intervention Programme.
Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., presents his Ministry’s disaster relief plans to assist Jamaicans affected by Hurricane Beryl to the members of the House of Representatives at Gordon House in Kingston on July 23.
Contact: MLSS Communication Unit|Tel: (876) 676-5672, (876) 676-5674|Email: prunit@mlss.gov.jm
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