Developers

The Virgin Islands are exposed to a number of natural and manmade hazards.The greatest threats come from hurricanes and earthquakes. After HurricaneHugo in 1989, 30% of the territory’s housing stock was damaged. Seismicresearch has indicated that this region has the potential to experience anearthquake of 7.5 – 8.5 magnitude. Earthquakes of this magnitude have beenrecorded in the Virgin Islands region during the 18th and 19th century.In 1995, the DDM undertook a Hazard and Risk Assessment Project (HRAP) thatestablished the nature of hazards, both natural and man made, to which the VIare exposed. From the HRAP also came recommendations for a Mitigation andDevelopment Planning Framework which is now incorporated into the VirginIslands Comprehensive Disaster Management Strategy and ProgrammingFramework. The DDM’s Mitigation and Planning Programme is responsible forguiding the work of this Framework. One of the key initiatives in theFramework is Public Information and the need to educate developers about themitigation measures that can be implemented to safeguard their homes andproperty.At present, property ownership is on the rise in the Virgin Islands. The PlanningAuthority currently receives approximately 500 applications per year.The handbook is designed to guide developers in the building process andinform them of ways to ensure that they have a safe building that they couldenjoy for a lifetime. The handbook includes input from the various public andprivate agencies that are involved in the development process.iv