This year’s hurricane season caused an “unprecedented” US$3 billion direct loss for the seven Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) borrowing member countries affected. And, according to Neville Grainger, CDB’s vice-president of finance, the figure was not final, given the considerable cost of the indirect losses. He revealed this while delivering the opening remarks at a special one-day conference on the 2004 hurricane season and its implications for structural engineering practice in the Caribbean, organised by the Caribbean division of the Institution of Structural Engineers at the CDB yesterday. Grainger said it was out of the ordinary for the region to sustain the billions of dollars in damage by hurricanes Charley, Frances and Ivan, and Tropical Storm Jeanne in one hurricane season. Breaking down the cost, he said US$815 million in direct losses had been experienced in Grenada, US$360 million in Jamaica, US$1.85 billion in the Cayman Islands, US$40 million in St Vincent and the Grenadines, and US$2.6 million in St Lucia. He added that structural damage in Grenada was considerable, with 90 per cent of the housing stock either damaged or destroyed. Outlining the indirect losses, Grainger said the affected islands might never truly be able to quantify the costs associated with the disruptions in the flow of goods and services, the loss in output and earnings from damaged and destroyed assets, and the loss in productivity. “Nor,” he said, “can we ignore the psychological impacts on affected persons and communities brought on by feelings of despair, helplessness, and insecurity in an environment.” He added the annual impact of natural hazards on the Caribbean was a “source of concern” to the CDB, given their ability to erode economic gains, disrupt the efforts of many countries to reduce poverty. Reprinted from nationnews.com