DoE compiling report on Barbuda damage

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Barbuda’s marine environment has suffered significantly from the passage of Hurricane Irma according to the Department of Environment (DoE).
This is one of the issues which the DoE plans to elaborate on in a report being compiled by its staff with the help of private partners on the status of the natural environment on the sister isle post-Irma.
Ruleta Camacho-Thomas, Deputy Chief Environment Officer at the DoE told OBSERVER media this week that, “some areas are recovering well and others are taking longer to recover.”
She said, “We have not quantified the loss in the marine and terrestrial sectors,” but added that from the DoE staff’s observations the “southwest and northwest regions of Barbuda have sustained a greater impact.”
Camacho-Thomas said the “widespread impact on the marine environment” was caused both by wave energy from the massive surge seen during the hurricane and from storm-water runoff.
After the hurricane, Trevor Walker, former member of parliament for Barbuda, told OBSEREVER media that the storm surge caused water to enter his house and rise to the level of his waist. He resided on River Road in Barbuda.
From the air, Barbuda’s coastline appears to have been significantly altered in some areas. In some cases, there are visible stretches of rocky coastline where there used to be sandy beaches.
Many animal populations have also suffered due to the passage of the Category 5 hurricane.

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