Published September 03, 2015
A preliminary assessment on the island of Dominica indicates that Tropical Storm Erika caused damage to basic infrastructure alone that amounts to nearly half of the small country's GDP.
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said Thursday that officials have estimated that damage to roads and bridges on the eastern Caribbean island will total more than $226 million.
The cost to rebuild one of the two airports on the island will cost more than $14 million. It will require at least $4 million to clear roads.
The assessment does not include the destruction of 371 homes.
Dominica has a GDP of more than $500 million and a population of about 72,000.
The storm triggered floods and mudslides on Aug. 27 that killed at least 31 people. Thirty-five people are still missing.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/preliminary-storm-damage-estimate-in-dominica-finds-damage-is-nearly-half-of-gdp