Ragged Island to receive modular clinic

Ragged Island to receive modular clinic
Ragged Island. (FILE PHOTO)

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The government will be placing a modular clinic on Ragged Island, Minister of Health Dr Duane Sands said yesterday.

The decision comes more than two years after Hurricane Irma devastated public infrastructure on the small island. 

“As we survey the post hurricane [Dorian] landscape, we shall address the needs of The Bahamas holistically,” Sands told Eyewitness News Online.

“It is not unreasonable therefore, that the modular clinical facilities being provided as a gift to the people of The Bahamas should be placed to provide the greatest impact.

“That premise undergirds our decision to place one in Ragged Island.”

Sands said the government is still waiting to receive those facilities from their international partners.

In September 2017, Hurricane Irma barreled into the island, packing winds up to 185 mph.

The Category 5 storm blew off roofs, toppled light poles and flattened homes and key infrastructure.

In the aftermath of the storm, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) deemed the island “uninhabitable”, but the government pledged that it would turn it into a green city.

But not much has changed since the storm hit. The island still has no public school, police station, clinic or administrator’s office.

There are currently about 60 plus people living on the island in patched homes.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis reiterated the government’s commitment to Ragged Island following calls from residents to remove the “uninhabitable” status from the island.

The government has pledged that it will spend $12 million to restore government facilities on the island and $4 million to construct a new school that would double as a shelter.

United States-based company Salt Energy LLC has also been awarded the RFP to build a solar and battery storage solution on the island, that would result in the production of more than 90 percent of the island’s energy requirements.

About Sloan Smith

Sloan Smith is a senior digital reporter at Eyewitness News, covering a diverse range of beats, from politics and crime to environment and human interest. In 2018, Sloan received a nomination for the “Leslie Higgs Feature Writer of The Year Award” from The Bahamas Press Club for her work with Eyewitness News.

1 comments

It seems as if the Government had to be shamed into doing something for hurricane damaged Ragged Island -an island of The Bahamas!!!

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