Above: St Vincent (CJ Photo)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
St Vincent and the Grenadines remains “open for business,” despite last week’s serious storm, officials said Friday.
The damage to mainland St Vincent was primarily on the island’s North Leeward, North Windward, South Leeward, North Central Windward and North Windward sides.
The Grenadines, on the other hand, were largely unaffected by the storm.
The damage done on mainland St Vincent will cost millions in restoring roads, bridges and homes, but the country’s tourism sector has weathered the storm “with little or no disruption” and hotels “continue to welcome guests,” according to Glen Beache, CEO of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority.
Beache, who expressed “deep sympathy” to the victims of the storm, said that while some areas of the country’s main island of St Vincent were facing relief efforts, the country as a whole “remains fully operational.”
St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves met this week with banks, contractors, CARICOM representatives and officials from neighbouring islands to discuss relief efforts.
Local crews are working “around the clock” to restore St Vincent’s infrastructure, officials said.