Storm’s damage to roads, bridges pegged at $226M

A preliminary assessment of the effects of Tropical Storm Erika on the island of Dominica has found damage to basic infrastructure alone that amounts to nearly half of the small country’s GDP of $500 million, the prime minister said on Thursday.

Repairs to roads and bridges across the eastern Caribbean island will total more than $226 million, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said. He added that it will cost about $4 million to clear debris and more than $14 million to rebuild the Melville Hall Airport, one of two in Dominica.

The storm triggered floods and mudslides on Aug. 27 that killed at least 31 people. Thirty-five are missing.

The island has a population of 72,000.