1.5 billion pounds of debris shows need for strong building code

The destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian is seen from the air, in Marsh Harbour, Abaco in September, 2019. (AP Photo/Gonzalo Gaudenzi)

As of Wednesday, September 18, 2019

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

WHILE 1.5 billion pounds of debris remains strewn across Marsh Harbour following deadly Hurricane Dorian, it is a harsh reminder that the country's building code needs revision to withstand monster storms.

Housing and Environment Minister Romauld Ferreira said yesterday that an overhaul of the building code could encompass various things to enhance the fortitude of homes and protect them from dangerous storm surges and ferocious winds.

When Dorian pummelled Abaco two weeks ago, it flattened homes and businesses, ultimately destroying almost everything in its path. In the aftermath of the Category Five storm, government officials have said they now have to update the standards by which homes and other structures are built. Otherwise, the minister said the cycle will never end, as the affects of climate change continues to be felt around the world.

"Hurricane events like Dorian are only going to continue to be more frequent and only going to get stronger," the environment minister said. "Therefore as a part of the adjustment, the adaptation for resilience, we have to look at the building codes.

"Otherwise we'd be doing this and repeating this function over and over again and so that means then that the building codes have to be visited. Houses need to be designed in such a way to withstand stronger winds.

"In the '70s we revisited the building code. We must look at it again because houses now have to be built to withstand gusts of 200mph winds.

"I mean this is going to become commonplace unfortunately as we move forward."

If the building code is amended, the minister said he expected several changes to be made.

"In real terms, that would mean the type of steel and the grade of steel depending on the structure of the building; the richness of the concrete depending on the type of structure; the depth of the foundation.

"How far above sea level do we actually build to prevent flooding? How many clips do you put on the rafters you put on? Then the strength of the clips (and) the amount of nails. Every single detail would have to be evaluated to give you that result for your home, which is most people's largest investment in their life that can withstand these events," he said.

He said while there may be some who have lost homes and are waiting for insurance claims to be processed, there were others who don't fall into this category, but government would do all in its power to return them to normalcy.

Ahead of Dorian's landfall, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said the Bahamas' building code was among the best in the region. However many structures proved to be no match for Dorian's fury.

"We have some of the best standards of home building within this region, and our homes are built to withstand at least 150 miles per hour, so this will put us to a test that we've never confronted before," Dr Minnis said on September 1.

As officials figure out the best solution for building structures, there is an extraordinary volume of debris in Marsh Harbour alone.

The situation has forced officials to formulate a debris management plan, the minister said.

With the help of a United Nations development programme, officials estimated that there is about two million cubic metres of debris or 1.5bn pounds of various matter that needs to be removed.

However, this presents another challenge in that the landfill and dump systems in Marsh Harbour will most likely be overwhelmed. So, the next best option is to take the waste out of the country to other locations better suited for this type of situation.

It is an undertaking that could cost well into the tens of millions of dollars, Mr Ferreira said. The ministry will also need additional manpower.

"A key feature of the plan is we hope to actually take these items out of the country because obviously such a large amount is going to overwhelm the landfill and dump systems of Marsh Harbour," the Marathon MP said ahead of yesterday's Cabinet meeting.

"We'd like to take it outside of the country because as you are aware Marsh Harbour has a landfill. It has its challenges but that's going to quickly overwhelm any kind of situation and, of course, we have to separate the debris. There's going to be concrete, rubble (and) vegetative debris. There's going to be metals.

"There's actually a boat sitting on top of a roof in Marsh Harbour. It's quite something to see. That gives you an idea of how high the sea surge was and the kinds of impact it had.

"So the waste has to be collected. It has to be sorted. It has to be reduced in volume, which means the use of a shredder or some cutting devices and then, of course, we take it out the country."

Gotoutintime 4 years, 7 months ago

Is the Government going to stop the Haitians from building right back in the "Da Mudd" again?? I doubt it!!

Greentea 4 years, 7 months ago

You can have all the laws in the world- without enforcement- it won't mean sheeeeet. We are good at making laws and policies in the Bahamas. Enforcement is another matter.

Dawes 4 years, 7 months ago

Fully agree and unfortunately sums up this country to a T. Everything is already on the books, just never enforced.

The_Oracle 4 years, 7 months ago

Exactly Greentea, brains not engaged before they open mouths. What an unmitigated ass.

alleycat 4 years, 7 months ago

Upgrading the building code won’t do anything to change construction methods in Pigeon Pea and the Mud, because nobody even applied for building permits for those houses, let alone had them inspected. My house has hurricane clips, plus rafters through-bolted to the plate. It’s still standing.

JackArawak 4 years, 7 months ago

Minister DumbA$$ is a snapshot of the entire government structure. Reactive, unrealistic and uninformed

Well_mudda_take_sic 4 years, 7 months ago

Housing and Environment Minister Romauld Ferreira is foolishly talking about removing all of Hurricane Dorian caused rubble from The Bahamas. Barging this rubble overseas would cost a fortune and is totally unnecessary. It simply needs to be bulldozed, broken-down and lifted into dump trucks, then moved to other suitable locations on Great Abaco to be used as land reclamation fill. Most of the damage to the water table in Marsh Harbour has already been done and the rubbled to be removed is unlikely to pose any significant long term health risk when used for fill in appropriate designated areas.

At least two or three well established bulldozing and/or trucking companies should be contracted for this work and, if need be, foreign owned equipment should be used to complete the job as quickly as possible. Obviously no Johnny come lately trucking companies should be contracted for the job and only suitable and properly maintained equipment should be used in the rubble removal process, i.e. no rickety trucks and tractors shipped into Abaco to become part of the debris problem when later abandoned. QUOTES SHOULD BE OBTAINED AND CONTRACTS CAREFULLY WORDED FROM THE STANDPOINT OF GETTING FAIR VALUE FOR ALL BAHAMIANS.

Islandboy100 4 years, 7 months ago

When is Edison key going to prison for this and corrupt immigration police and government officials.

joeblow 4 years, 7 months ago

... I've been asking my self that question for 20 years!

Well_mudda_take_sic 4 years, 7 months ago

Repost:

Most Bahamians don't know that before Edison Key entered active politics he made a small fortune (millions of dollars) from his ownership share of a very large scale farming operation in Abaco. The farming operation's profits were greatly enhanced by its extensive use of low cost illegal Haitian labour and its products were exported for the most part to the U.S. Edison Key soon began cozying up to SLOP and vice versa. Edison needed official papers for his farming operation's low cost Haitian labour and SLOP needed more PLP votes on what had traditionally been predominantly FNM turf. A match made in heaven ensued which planted the seeds for the explosive growth of both the Mudd and Pigeon Pea communities in the years to come. By hook or crook Edison went about securing legal documents - permanent residency certificates, birth certificates and citizenship papers for children of illegal Haitian aliens, passports and, of course, voter cards for those who could quickly be made able to vote with the understanding that they would support their new Papa Key. This paved the way for Edison Key's long career in active politics across both political parties - there has never been a more successful switch hitter in the history of PLP and FNM politics. Edison Key had created for himself a huge base of Haitian voters loyal to him and him alone. This allowed him to cross PLP and FNM party lines several times, whenever he got fed up with one or the other not treating him as he felt he should be treated. Yes indeed, Edison Key alone can lay claim to the Haitianization of Abaco. And there's your history lesson for the day!

The Tribune