Perhaps it is not a Tsunami, but if you recall there was widespread devastation in Greneda from Hurricane Ivan, and the small Caribbean country seems to so far have been unable to recover :(
------ Hurricane Ivan has long passed but recent deaths in Grenada are being attributed to traumatic stress levels, as the population continues to struggle to cope with what was described yesterday as "perhaps the worse event in the country's history". Speaking at a breakfast seminar organised by RBTT Merchant Bank yesterday, Timothy Antoine, permanent secretary in Grenada's Ministry of Finance said the psychological damage done to Grenadians by Ivan is unimaginable. He said there had been many deaths which, "we are fairly certain", were due to post-Ivan stress. "People just can't cope anymore." Antoine himself was moved close to tears at yesterday seminar as he told how productivity levels had reach all time lows. Recent heavy rains and strong winds were wreaking emotional havoc on workers, he said, some of whom are unable to sleep at nights, reliving in their minds the nightmare of the September 7 catastrophe. The theme of the seminar, which was held at the Hilton Trinidad, was "Managing the Caribbean's Vulnerability to External Shocks". It was chaired by RBTT Merchant Bank's managing director Lydon Guiseppi. Antoine, who was the feature speaker, said before the hurricane Grenada was projecting growth of more than four per cent for 2004. The economy is now expected to contract by around three per cent as all the productive sectors almost ground to a complete halt. Overnight current account surplus turned to deficits and Antoine said if quick financial help was not forthcoming from countries such as Trinidad, Grenada would not have been able to pay public officers' salaries for the months immediately following Ivan. He listed housing as the number priority saying many homes and offices were still under tarpaulin. Antoine, echoed the call by Brett's Trudy Teelucksingh-Ablack for the establishment of a regional consolidated fund to help manage both the vulnerability to and the fallout from natural disasters, a fund that would be underwritten by the governments. He said it was time too for regional insurers to pool their risks to lower the cost of property insurance. More than 70 per cent of the buildings destroyed in Grenada were not insured. -Gel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Find out how CFTicket can increase your company's customer support efficiency by 100% http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=49 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:143318 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
