VZCZCXRO9983
RR RUEHGR
DE RUEHKG #0795/01 2541842
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101842Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY KINGSTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6752
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO 5959

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINGSTON 000795 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
NSC FOR DRISK AND CGARCIA 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR (ACADIEUX) (VDEPIRRO)(WSMITH) 
WHA/EPSC (MROONEY) 
 
SANTO DOMINGO FOR FCS AND FAS 
 
TREASURY FOR ERIN NEPHEW 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ENRG EAIR AID EINV ECON ETRD IADB IBRD IMF TRSY XL JM
SUBJECT: JAMAICA: RECOVERY ASSISTANCE FOR STORM GUSTAV 
 
REF: A. KINGSTON 770 
¶B. KINGSTON 761 
¶C. KINGSTON 760 
¶D. KINGSTON 704 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Jamaicans are again picking up the pieces from the ninth 
major natural disaster in seven years.  Two weeks after Tropical 
Storm Gustav hit, the country is still assessing damage, but 
agriculture and infrastructure suffered most.  Embassy and USAID 
staff traveled on September 8 to the three parishes hit hardest by 
the storm to assess conditions.  Blocked and eroded roads are 
creating difficulties for extension officers to assess damage to 
individual farms.  There are 12 confirmed deaths and at least 30 
homes were totally destroyed.  Most people have left shelters, but 
about 90 people still remain.  Assistance from other countries and 
the private sector is arriving and a temporary bridge has restored 
one-way traffic between Kingston and St. Thomas.  The agricultural 
sector in the eastern side of the island face serious challenges in 
the near term, particularly the banana sector which was nearly 
wiped-out for the second year in a row.  Preliminary estimates of 
damage to Jamaica's already ailing road and bridge infrastructure 
are USD 113 million, but is expected to increase as some of the 
harder hit areas are assessed for damage  Estimates of destruction 
in Jamaica's fragile agriculture sector are already running at USD 
22 million and climbing.  END SUMMARY. 
 
IMPACT ASSESSMENT 
----------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On August 28 Tropical Storm Gustav caused persistant heavy 
showers and tropical storm force winds, resulting in serious 
flooding, landslides and wind damage. The eastern section of the 
island comprising the parishes of St. Thomas, Portland and St. Mary 
sustained the most damage.  Although total official estimates are 
not yet available, residential dwellings, civil infrastructure and 
agriculture appear to have suffered the most.  Add to this the 
expected macroeconomic fallout in GDP growth, inflation, fiscal 
policy, and export earnings, and the magnitude of the disaster 
escalates.  When the total cost of the damage from Gustav is added 
to the USD 1.2 billion from the previous eight disasters, the 
country would have cumulatively lost upwards of 15 percent of GDP. 
 
 
GOJ STATUS REPORT OF DAMAGE SUSTAINED 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency 
Management (ODPEM) provided Post with updates on the assessment of 
damage caused by Gustav and current issues facing the country.  As 
of September 9 there are: 
 
- 6 shelters are still open being used by 90 persons; 
 
- More than 30 houses were completely destroyed and hundreds others 
damaged; 
 
- 12 reported deaths; 
 
- The banana sector has sustained major damage; 
 
- The coffee sector is still being assessed as it is difficult to 
reach all the farms; 
 
- Some condiment farms and green houses in St. Elizabeth have been 
affected; 
 
- ODPEM's main priority at the moment is the provision of food and 
temporary shelter.  (NOTE: However, agriculture and infrastructure 
recovery efforts will become paramount once the basic necessities 
have been satisfied. END NOTE). 
 
Agriculture Battered Again 
-------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Jamaica's highly susceptible agriculture sector, still 
recovering from the effects of Hurricane Dean last year, has endured 
 
KINGSTON 00000795  002 OF 003 
 
 
a serious battering from Gustav. The Jamaican Information Service 
(JIS) is reporting that the sector has sustained approximately JD 
1.6 billion (USD 22 million) in damage.  The Rural Agricultural 
Development Authority (RADA) Deputy Parish Manager in Portland, 
Howard O'Hara, told JIS that 4,567 farmers in the parish were 
affected by the storm. He also noted that 20 kilometers of farm 
roads were damaged by the heavy rains. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Peter Thompson, RADA's Deputy Director for St. Thomas, told 
emboffs in a meeting on September 8 that an estimated 2,000 acres 
(mostly bananas) and 1,000 farmers have been seriously affected by 
the disaster.  The shock to agriculture is expected to reverberate 
throughout an already weakened economy -- facing record prices and 
annualized inflation near 26 percent (reftel D).  The price effects 
are already being felt at the retail level, with fruit and vegetable 
prices rising in response to anticipated reduction in supply. 
 
ON SITE ASSESMENT -INFRASTRUCTURE COMPROMISED 
----------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Emboffs traveled through the three eastern parishes to see 
damage to the country's physical infrastructure.  The Harbor View 
Bridge over the Hope River linking Kingston and eastern Jamaica was 
washed out by flooding.  A temporary bridge has restored single lane 
traffic, but this has created a traffic bottleneck, especially 
during rush hours.  In stark contrast, the two-year old bridge over 
the Yallahs River, with large steel I-beams, withstood the flooding, 
highlighting the fact that the extent of the devastation resulted 
largely from the aged infrastructure. 
 
¶7. (U) A section of the major roadway linking Kingston and the 
northern tourism belt was inundated with water and remains 
impassable to vehicular traffic.  There have also been reports of 
extensive damage to road infrastructure from landslides, including 
in Jamaica's fragile Blue Mountain terrain.  The landslides have cut 
off a number of farmers from accessing their fields and markets. 
Minister of Transport and Works Mike Henry has suggested that 
conservative estimates of damage to roads and bridges would be more 
than USD 113 million. 
 
RECOVERY ASSISTANCE RECEIVED 
---------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) Various governments, international organizations, and private 
sector entities are providing support to the GOJ.  The GOJ has 
established a post-Gustav recovery fund account at the National 
Commercial Bank for cash donations. 
Assistance pledged or received thus far include: 
 
- USD 26 million from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GOTT) 
to three counties to help recover from damage caused by Gustav. 
Jamaica and Haiti will each receive USD 10 million to be taken from 
the CARICOM Petroleum Fund. 
 
- Remittance companies Jamaica National Money Transfer and Grace 
Kennedy Remittance Services (partially owned by U.S. firm Western 
Union) are waving remittance fees for donations in an effort to 
increase contributions from the Jamaican diaspora. Both firms have a 
special focus on collecting funds to assist schools and hospitals. 
 
- The Gleaner newspaper reported on September 8 that Bouygues 
Trauveaux, a private French firm which is constructing a major 
highway project in Jamaica (Highway 2000) will repair the road in 
the Bog Walk gorge free of charge.  The road is a major route 
between Kingston and the North Coast; it is passable, but remains 
closed as a result of storm damage. 
 
- The Spanish Government through the Spanish Agency for 
International Development Corporation provided for a shipment of 
seven tons of relief supplies.  The shipment, valued at about USD 
50,000, consisted of large tarpaulins, hygiene kits, blankets and 
tents. 
 
ASSISTANCE NEEDS 
---------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) In terms of emergency needs, the GOJ still requires 
temporary roof covers and water for communities that are still cut 
off.  The most affected sectors are health, agriculture, and 
 
KINGSTON 00000795  003 OF 003 
 
 
infrastructure. The Ministry of Agriculture has reported damage to 
70 percent of the banana crops in St. Mary and nearly 100 percent in 
St. Thomas.  They are now going into recovery mode, where they will 
need reconstruction material and technical support to rebuild 
communities. 
 
¶10. (SBU) The GOJ is also still awaiting an update from Dr. Marrion 
Ducasse at the Ministry of Health especially with regards to plans 
for vector control since there have already been 4 cases of malaria 
reported.  The ODPEM will be sending out summaries on the situation 
by e-mail and an updated list of needs and PAHO will send Post the 
Health report that they have already received. 
 
USG ASSISTANCE 
-------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) Prime Minister Bruce Golding has told Ambassador Johnson 
that Jamaica has an urgent need to replenish its overall stocks of 
emergency supplies.  (NOTE: USAID provided at total of USD 300,000 
worth of assistance to Jamaica's ODPEM to support aerial 
reconnaissance and the purchase and distribution of emergency relief 
supplies, first of which was to provide immediate assistance to 
individuals/families still impacted by the Storm and who are living 
in shelters. The balance was to strengthen ODPEM's capacity to 
respond to future storms by restocking their supplies of vital 
commodities. END NOTE). 
 
¶12. (SBU) To aid recovery efforts, additional USG assistance could 
focus on: 
 
A) Providing technical assistance for assessing damaged 
infrastructure and possibly assisting in the restoration of farm 
roads; 
 
B) Agricultural marketing and production expertise (alternative 
crops, green houses) in order to protect against agricultural damage 
from similar natural disasters in the future; 
 
C) Farm inputs, to include planting seeds (fruits and vegetables), 
inorganic fertilizers, insecticides, selective herbicides and; 
 
D) In the longer term, efforts could focus on offering technical 
assistance to prepare a civil infrastructure audit of the island for 
long term planning and better coordination of efforts by various 
donor agencies on physical infrastructure needs. 
 
JOHNSON