The World Bank approved a US$15 million zero-interest credit to help Saint Lucia rehabilitate key infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Tomas, using standards resilient to future natural events, and improve the island's capacity to manage disaster risk, including by working with geo-referenced information to evaluate natural hazards and climate change risks.
10 March 2011: The World Bank approved a US$15 million zero-interest credit to help Saint Lucia rehabilitate key infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Tomas and improve its capacity to manage disaster risk.
With the bulk of the damage to Saint Lucia being the result of flash flooding and subsequent landslides, which made roads impassable, destroyed bridges and homes, and washed away river banks in the central and southwestern parts of the island, the World Bank credit will provide budget support to recover emergency expenditures incurred following the disaster. It will support the reconstruction and rehabilitation of damaged schools, hospitals, community centers, and roads, using standards resilient to future natural events.
It also will support the improvement of government capacities to work with geo-referenced information in order to evaluate natural hazards and climate change risks and to improve disaster management capacity. The credit from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) is repayable in 35 years, including a 10-year grace period. [World Bank Press Release]