Antigua and Barbuda: Hurricane Irma Post-Disaster Needs Assessment and Recovery Framework

Statement by World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim as Hurricane Irma ripped through the Eastern Caribbean. 

Context and objectives

During the night of 5 and 6 September, 2017, Hurricane Irma, the most powerful category 5 Hurricane recorded in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, heavily struck the state of Antigua and Barbuda, with maximum sustained winds of 295 km/h, record rainfalls and a storm surge of nearly three meters high, killing one child and causing widespread devastation.

Following an official government request for post-disaster assistance, the EU, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Bank/ Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery supported the government in undertaking a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA), jointly with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).

Main activities and results

Financed by the ACP-EU NDRR Program, the PDNA aimed to:

• Estimate the overall impact of Hurricane Irma on the socio-economic development of Antigua and Barbuda;
• Develop a recovery strategy, identifying the early, medium and long term recovery and reconstruction needs;
• Ensure the strategies for recovery mainstreams DRR and the concept of “build back better” and address social and environmental concerns, including communities and gender; and
• Develop a recovery strategy which is representative of the needs and priorities of the affected communities.

The PDNA estimated that losses and damages amount to $155 million and recovery and reconstruction needs to $222 million.

Following the completion of the PDNA report, the project supported the government in its recovery planning and programming of reconstruction funding. This included mobilizing resources from financial institutions and development partners, such as $5.9 million from the EU for the reconstruction of 150 houses in Barbuda.

Partnerships and coordination

The PDNA was conducted jointly with the World Bank, GFDRR, UN, and EU.

Useful Links

The executive summary of the PDNA is available here.