The new Government office accommodations will be built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane, the Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts said at last Friday’s Cabinet press briefing.
The need for a Category 5-rated building was ‘one of the many lessons learned from Hurricane Ivan’ Mr. Tibbetts said.
Minister of Education Alden McLaughlin has already indicated that the three new high schools that are scheduled to be built during the next two years will also be up to Category 5 standards, partially because they will also serve as hurricane shelters.
The Category 5-rated office accommodations will ensure Government continuity after a hurricane, and protect the large quantities of records maintained in those buildings, Mr. Tibbetts said.
Chairman of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority Tim Ridley has also recently expressed the need for CIMA to have a purpose-built Category 5-rated building so that it would be able to carry on its vital functions in the event of a major hurricane hitting Grand Cayman again.
Mr. Tibbetts acknowledged that the cost of Category 5-rated buildings is higher.
‘As expensive as it is in the medium term, it’s better in the long term,’ he said.
Category 5-rated office buildings such as Citrus Grove and the Prospect Primary School sustained little or no damage as a result of Hurricane Ivan.
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