Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

Premier reflects on infrastructural recovery on Irma’s 5th anniversary

Premier reflects on infrastructural recovery on Irma’s 5th anniversary

With today marking the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Irma making landfall on the Virgin Islands, Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley used the opportunity to reflect on the huge process made in infrastructural development and recovery since the devastation in 2017.
The Premier, in his speech earlier today, noted the rainfall over the last few days engenders unpleasant memories of the most catastrophic disaster in the history of the territory. He noted the experience was harrowing for many people and the category-five hurricane devastated homes, public buildings, infrastructure, personal possessions, livestock, businesses, livelihoods, industries, and the economy.

“Estimates put the immediate damage in the region of $2.3 billion. We lost four lives directly to the event, and many others indirectly afterwards, due to physical and emotional causes. Today, we remember the departed and we pray for them and their families. At the moment, the devastation and the losses seemed and felt insurmountable. But it is at low points like these, that we discover who we truly are, and what we are made of BVI strong,” Dr Wheatley said.

The Premier said history will reflect that in the aftermath of Irma and Hurricane Maria just two weeks later, the indomitable spirit and resilience of the Virgin Islands people pushed forward on the road to recovery.

“With our limited resources, some help from neighbours and friends, and our strength that comes from our faith in God. We cleaned up the debris, restored vital infrastructure, and started rebuilding our homes and our lives. We have continued the recovery process over the past five years, despite the interruption of COVID, by delivering recovery projects financed by the CDB (Caribbean Development Bank) recovery and rehabilitation loan, and our own financial resources,” Dr Wheatley said.

“I’m very pleased that many of these recovery projects have been completed by Virgin Islands contractors who have done an outstanding job with the support of the Recovery and Development Agency under the leadership of Mr Anthony McMaster. Major roads such as Ballast Bay, Great Mountain and Little Dix Hill have been restored. We have also rebuilt government administration buildings on Anegada, Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke. Works on the Ralph T O’Neil administration complex are ongoing, well managed and near completion,” he added.

The Premier also highlighted the restoration of several schools in the territory and plans to restore several others in the future.

“The Elmore Stoutt High School Redevelopment Project is almost complete, and other school projects are at different stages of implementation. We have ensured that the needs of our future generations are secured. We have also repaired and upgraded recreational and community facilities and the list goes on. I want to say a special thank you to all the donors whose contributions have helped us rebuild, especially in the education sector. More support for rebuilding and fixing schools has been announced for which we are grateful,” Dr Wheatley said.

He noted the misfortunes of Irma turned into opportunities for building greater resilience as a society. The Premier said local contractors are now getting opportunities for growth and to strengthen their capabilities especially with building structures to withstand natural disasters.

“This has many benefits for our economy, chief of which is increasing the amount of money that stays on our shores and circulating in our economy. The resilience of our financial services industry has sustained government revenues during this time. As our tourism industry was halted, confidence in our financial services industry remained high and provided revenues to carry us through. We see the wisdom of our predecessors when they chose to establish our financial services industry in the 1980s,” Dr Wheatley said.

“We still have much to do by the way of continuing our recovery as we rebuild for development and greater resilience. But we have made substantial progress since Irma struck five years ago. We must recognise and remember this: the greatest lesson we can take from this experience is that we trust in God, the support of our partners and belief in ourselves. We the people of the Virgin Islands can triumph over anything, and we emerge stronger from every challenge that confronts us,” the Premier continued.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×