THE HURRICANE Lenny Grant Agreement signals the United States government's "commitment to implementing disaster mitigation practices" in the Eastern Caribbean, said Roland Bullen, US Deputy Chief of mission to Barbados.
Speaking at the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Co-operation between the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Organization of Eastern Carib-bean States (OECS), an event that formally launched the Lenny Agreement, Mr. Bullen predicted that the newly-established disaster recovery programme "will allow us to develop a regional strategy for comprehensive disaster management". He noted that under the terms of the agreement, the US is donating $5.1 million "towards the reconstruction of damaged areas in Antigua, Dominica, Grenada and St. Lucia" affected by Hurricane Lenny, which struck in 1999.
At the same time, he urged Caribbean authorities to work together "to develop strong preparedness and mitigation programmes and identify where your development projects are most vulnerable to natural disasters".