IN OUR view much of the damage and loss of life caused by Hurricane Ivan could have been avoided by adequate building standards and the efficient implementation of government regulations. Images of large numbers of wooden houses recently built with government approval by Food for the Poor in the mangrove wetlands at Portland Cottage suggest that the standards applied by the regulatory agencies need to be urgently revised. An enquiry into the arrangements which led to approvals being granted for these unsuitable and dangerous locations would not be out of place.
We note that as part of the reconstruction effort, the government is about to enter into an agreement with Food for the Poor for the construction of more houses at Portland Cottage and elsewhere. We caution that the government needs to satisfy itself that the design of these structures is adequate to meet Jamaican conditions, including provisions for hurricane straps.
There is a building regulation requiring all dwellings to have approved sanitary conveniences, and wetlands (where the water table is high) are not suitable locations for the construction of pit latrines or soak-away pits. How the destroyed dwellings could have received building approval in the first place in this context cries out for investigation. This is not a time for waivers and exemptions from environmental impact assessments and due process.
There is some urgency for rebuilding, but we must avoid an indecent haste which might produce the same or similar potential for damage and loss of life in future disasters.
It seems to us that this reconstruction effort is an opportunity to implement long-standing policies against the construction of dwellings and other structures on captured land and in environmentally unsuitable locations.
With the total destruction of so many shacks and more substantial structures on fishing beaches and in riverbeds and wetlands, this is an opportunity to regularise a dangerous situation which was totally out of control.
We note that, not waiting on government assistance, many of these structures are already being rebuilt in the same or similar unsuitable locations, a recipe for future devastation and loss of life. A measure of the government's commitment to disaster preparedness and emergency management will be its success in preventing these malpractices which only exacerbate the impact of natural calamities.
