While discussing the various challenges being faced in relation to repair of houses damaged by the explosive eruptions of La Soufriere in April 2021, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves said the current global lumber shortage is one of those challenges.
Prime Minister Gonsalves says that this shortage has created a difficulty in sourcing lumber.
“We are having difficulty, because there’s a shortage, globally, and certainly in the region, coming to us of; the 5/8 plywood, treated plywood, the 1x2x14, 1x2x16, you know pieces of lumber we are having difficulties sourcing them and that is creating some challenges for us in some of our work,” he said.
The Prime Minister also spoke of the challenge of change in assessment of the damage done to homes.
“The real challenge is that the initial assessment was done where you had about seven hundred—the global number—to be addressed, to repair and to build, but when you go on the site, when you go on the ground you would find additional homes—sometimes what may be assessed as a particular level to do repairs is much higher, because you’re think that you can only change part of the roof, but when you go there you realize that not only the galvanize needs to be change but also you have to change all the lumber” Gonsalves said.
The Prime Minister gave the assurance during his interview on VC3’s Roundtable that the government continues to work steadily on repairs and building.
