PM: new estimates for Dean damage = $200 million

And while crime has come to dominate the headlines, today Prime Minister Said Musa announced that the financial effect of Hurricane Dean has almost doubled initial estimates. According to the PM, the infrastructural damage to roads and utilities as well as losses in the agriculture, fisheries, and tourism sectors have now been calculated at almost two hundred million Belize dollars.

Prime Minister Said Musa
“The present estimated cost of the damage and loss according to the revised Damage Assessment Report is as follows. In the housing sector, 10.18 million U.S., in the agricultural sector, 65.5 million U.S., tourism sector, 2.9 million U.S., fisheries sector, 4.6 million U.S., Infrastructure, 8.5 million U.S., Utilities, .5 million U.S. In addition a total of seventy-one schools in the Corozal and Orange Walk Districts sustained varying degrees of damage. Overall, the Damage Assessment Report reveals losses and damage resulting from Hurricane Dean amounting to some U.S. 98.6 million dollars, or close to two hundred million Belize dollars.”

It is still uncertain how the government plans to mitigate the financial loss of the storm but today, the PM maintained that the national priority is a commitment that those most affected have access to food, drinking water and medicine.