COMMONWEALTH OF DOMINICA Rapid Damage and Impact Assessment Tropical Storm Erika – August 27, 2015 A Report by the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica September 25, 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................................... 4 PREFACE .................................................................................................................................................... 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ 7 CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION AND EVENT DESCRIPTION ................................................ 8 Background and Introduction ................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Country Profile ................................................................................................................................ 8 1.2 Country Economic Profile ............................................................................................................... 9 1.3 Vulnerability to Disasters .............................................................................................................. 10 1.4 Immediate Response .................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER TWO – THE RAPID DAMAGE AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT APPROACH ........... 15 2.1 The Rapid Damage Assessment Approach ........................................................................................ 15 2.2 Assessment Scope ............................................................................................................................. 16 2.3 Assessment Methodology ................................................................................................................. 16 2.4 Limitations and Caveats .................................................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER THREE – DAMAGE AND LOSS BY SECTOR ............................................................... 18 3.1 Infrastructure Sectors ....................................................................................................................... 19 3.1.1 Transportation - Roads & Bridges .............................................................................................. 19 3.1.2 Transportation - Airports and Sea Ports .................................................................................... 23 3.1.3 Water and Sanitation ................................................................................................................. 29 3.1.4 Environmental Health ................................................................................................................ 33 3.1.5 Telecommunications .................................................................................................................. 36 3.1.6 Electricity .................................................................................................................................... 38 3.2 Productive Sectors ............................................................................................................................ 40 3.2.1 Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries ............................................................................................ 40 3.2.2 Tourism ...................................................................................................................................... 48 3.2.3 Industry and Commerce ............................................................................................................. 51 3.3 Social Sector ...................................................................................................................................... 52 3.3.1 Education ................................................................................................................................... 52 3.3.2 Health ......................................................................................................................................... 57 3.3.3 Housing ...................................................................................................................................... 61 2 CHAPTER FOUR – THE MACROECONOMIC IMPACT ................................................................ 64 Summary of Economic Damage .............................................................................................................. 64 The Situation Before the Storm .............................................................................................................. 64 Projections of the Impact of TS Erika on Macroeconomic Variables ...................................................... 66 CHAPTER FIVE – CROSS CUTTING THEMES ............................................................................... 70 Social Protection ..................................................................................................................................... 70 Gender Inclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 71 CHAPTER SIX – RECOVERY, RECONSTRUCTION AND RISK REDUCTION RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................................................................... 73 3 COMMONWEALTH OF DOMINICA TROPICAL STORM ERIKA – AUGUST 27, 2015 RAPID DAMAGE AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Rapid Damage and Impact Assessment (RDIA) report was prepared by the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica following the devastating impacts of Tropical Storm Erika on August 27, 2015. It was undertaken jointly with technical support from the World Bank in close conjunction with other development partners and international organizations. The government wishes to extend its appreciation and acknowledge the numerous ministries and organizations for their support and assistance in granting access to information, providing support to the report and for their availability for discussions during the assessment. These include: The Office of Disaster Management The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries The Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development The Ministry of Finance The Ministry of Health and Environment The Ministry of Housing, Lands and Water Resource Management The Ministry of Information, Science, Telecommunications and Technology The Ministry of Justice, Immigration and National Security The Ministry of Kalinago Affairs The Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and Investment The Ministry of Public Works and Ports The Ministry of Social Services, Family and Gender Affairs The Ministry of Tourism and Urban Renewal The Ministry of Trade, Energy and Employment Government Information Service Dominica Water and Sewerage Authority Dominica Electricity Company DIGICEL LIME (Cable and Wireless) Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project – Project Coordination Unit International Partners and Organizations: Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) United Nations Development Program (UNDP) UN Women UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 4 World Food Program (WFP) The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission University of the West Indies (UWI) The Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica would also like to acknowledge the financial support for this assessment and report provided by the European Union, in the framework of the ACP-EU Natural Disaster Risk Reduction Program, managed by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). The photographs used in this publication were either provided by the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica or taken by the evaluation team. The sole responsibility of this publication lies with the author(s). The European Union is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. 5 PREFACE At the request of the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica, a mission led by the World Bank conducted a rapid damage and impact assessment to estimate the scale and scope of the damage caused by Tropical Storm Erika on August 27, 2015 jointly with other development partners. Experts from international organizations, including the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (UN Women), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Program (WFP), the Red Cross, OECS Commission and the University of the West Indies (UWI) also participated in this assessment. The objective of the assessment is to provide the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica with a quantitative basis upon which to design and base a comprehensive reconstruction and financing strategy. From September 7-18, 2015 the team conducted a preliminary assessment of the damage caused by Tropical Storm Erika and estimated the related macroeconomic implications of the event. In addition to the rapid assessment, the team was asked