Recovery in the U. S. Virgin Islands

📖 The Scoop

Soon after Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) in September 2017, recovery activities began. But more than three years after the hurricanes, the territory still has substantial recovery needs. The USVI government estimates that, to fully recover from the damage, it will need to execute $11.25 billion in recovery work-nearly three times its annual gross domestic product. Project timing, complexity, and scale add to the challenge. The recovery process is also a chance for the USVI to reenvision its future, leveraging recovery funding to create a more modern, resilient, and equitable territory. The authors of this report aim to help the USVI accelerate its recovery by identifying key recovery goals and accomplishments to date, assessing roadblocks and challenges, and suggesting actionable recommendations to more efficiently implement recovery. They reviewed the USVI's prior recovery plans, analyzed available data, considered good practice in other disaster recovery settings, and held more than 170 group discussions with stakeholders. They provide 76 recommendations to enhance recovery efforts, each including steps to support implementation. The report covers multiple recovery needs: a set of crosscutting capacities required for progress in multiple sectors (management, fiscal, workforce, and supply chain), the rebuilding of physical infrastructure (infrastructure services, energy, housing, and natural and cultural resources), and the development of key aspects of the economy and public services (the tourism economy, education, and health).

Genre: History / Caribbean & West Indies / General (fancy, right?)