THE Government is to provide grants of up to $400,000 to families whose houses were damaged by Hurricane Beryl three weeks ago.

Minister of Labour and Social Security Pearnel Charles Jr made the announcement on Tuesday as he provided an update on the Government’s response to the Category 4 hurricane which ravaged sections of the island.

According to Charles Jr, based on the analysis of the damage assessments completed so far, the Government is projecting that approximately 8,700 houses islandwide will require some level of support from the State to aid in their recovery and rebuilding.

“A total of 8,397 household assessments have been completed as of July 22, 2024. Of this number, 453 houses have been assessed as totally destroyed, 3,221 severely damaged, while 4,723 suffered minor damage.

“Families whose houses have been destroyed will receive a grant of up to $400,000. Those whose homes have been severely damaged will receive a grant of up to $150,000, and those who experienced minor damage will receive up to $50,000,” Charles Jr told the House.

“We recognise the immediate challenges presented by using cheque payments and we are exploring options for electronic payments and cash cards to expedite these grants and improve service delivery,” added Charles Jr.

He argued that Jamaica has to approach this restoration process as a partnership of all stakeholders, and “it is, therefore, expected that these grants will be supplemented by a range of other initiatives, including donor funds, contributions from the Diaspora, private sector initiatives such as the recently launched National Commercial Bank Foundation, Building a Better Jamaica Fund, the CDF [Constituency Development Fund], and Food For the Poor”.

The minister said he has received a report that Food For the Poor has already replaced 20 roofs in Clarendon and will activate similar efforts in St Elizabeth this Thursday.

Charles Jr said his ministry has completed the assessment process in most parishes; however, the process is ongoing in the southern parishes of Clarendon, Manchester, and St Elizabeth.

“Assessments in these three parishes should be completed by tomorrow, Wednesday July 24, with only a few areas outstanding.

“Madam Speaker, while we are currently in the final stages of the household assessment exercise, we recognise that there may be instances where our teams will have to engage with some remaining households. We are calling on our fellow Jamaicans to assist in identifying persons who may have been affected by the hurricane and have not yet been assisted or assessed by our teams to reach out to us, either by contacting our parish offices or by calling our Customer Contact Centre at 876-922-8000-13,” said Charles Jr.