Jamaica could be faced with a serious physical infrastructural dilemma if the island is hit by a high-category hurricane like Harvey or Irma, according to local infrastructure stakeholders.
Civil engineer and Incorporated MasterBuilders Association of Jamaica (IMAJ) executive Carvel Stewart said that while most concrete (or block and steel) buildings, especially those with concrete roofs, should hold their own against unruly hurricanes like Irma and Harvey, there is a serious issue that many of the buildings have not benefited from proper inspection by professionals employed to the municipal corporations, because of a shortage of personnel.
Hurricane Irma at Category 5, with winds of up to 185 miles per hour, destroyed the tiny island of Barbuda last week on its rampage across the eastern and northern Caribbean before moving on to Florida in the United States.
Described as one of the strongest Atlantic hurricane in history, Irma has been blamed for at least 46 deaths and billions of dollars in damage.
Before Irma’s passage, Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph winds near Rockport, Texas, in the United States on August 25, taking more than 71 lives and leaving a trail of destruction that US authorities estimate will cost more than US$70 billion to repair.
The ferocity of both storms has reopened debate as to whether meteorologists should start looking at a sixth category of hurricanes with winds well over the Category 5 limit of 157 mph.
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