Photo: DIS

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Flooding last week in Dominica caused approximately $6.6 million in damages to crops, infrastructure and homes, according to preliminary estimates.

CARICOM expressed “deep concern and distress” over the flooding, which occurred in Layou when the Layou River overtopped and the island’s Matthieu Dam breached.

“The Caribbean Community has noted with deep concern, the damage wrought in the community of Layou, Dominica,” Acting Secretary-General Lolita Applewhaite said in a statement. “The community acknowledges that the effects of the flooding will be long-term with serious implications, especially for the country’s agriculture and tourism sectors.”

Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said Thursday the damages had created a “major disaster.”

The floods also destroyed the Chinese Agricultural Technical Mission in Dominica, which was a multi-million investment up to this point.