A senior British Virgin Islands (BVI) government official is encouraging non-nationals, who cannot find work after the damage caused by Hurricane Irma, to leave the British Overseas Territory.
Vincent Wheatley, the Sister Islands Programme Coordinator in Deputy Governor’s Office, made the call even as several CARICOM nationals, including those from St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Guyana, were among other non-BVI nationals being housed in a community centre that had been stripped of its roofing shingles.
The building is at risk of being flooded if it rains, as only the woodwork on the roof, which was damaged in some areas, is protecting the occupants of the shelters from the elements.
Wheatley told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that about 100 people remain in shelters on the island, which has a population of 3,500, a large number of who are expatriates.
A Caribbean Disaster Management Agency (CDEMA) team deployed to do rapid needs assessment on Virgin Gorda on Tuesday found that between 70 and 80 per cent of the housing stock was destroyed or damaged so badly that they are uninhabitable.
Wheatley said that so far, there have been daily evacuations mainly to America and European countries, through helicopter service and a boat service to Puerto Rico.
“We’ve had none to the Eastern Caribbean countries because LIAT hasn’t been able to fly but we have been told that by Thursday or Friday of this week, LIAT plans to start the service to like Antigua and St. Vincent and the rest of the Caribbean,” he said.
