Details Unclear on Abaco Domes Extension

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – For months, the Spring City domes, which were set up as emergency housing in Abaco after Hurricane Dorian in 2019, have been in the spotlight. Most recently was the news that the Davis administration would be extending the deadline for a mass eviction and demolition of Dome City. Our Marlena Leonard sought answers on issue from the housing minister and has this report.

Earlier in the summer, Housing and Transport Minister Jobeth Coleby-Davis announced the Spring City domes would be demolished the day before the third anniversary of Hurricane Dorian’s landfall. However, that did not happen. 

A deadline that was then walked back last Wednesday at the Office of the Prime Minister’s weekly press briefing, when current DRA Chairman Alex Storr shared the news that there was an extension on the dome residents deadline to evict the property. 

When asked for clarification on the deadline extension, Storr said it wasn’t up to him. Although, when asked asked the same, the housing minister also said the ball was in somebody else’s court.

The social services minister and social services on the ground in Abaco were contacted but neither was able to give an official response.

For her part, Coleby-Davis says she could not say more on the matter.

The domes were constructed near Spring City, Abaco in October 2019, were originally designed to house up to 1,000 displaced Hurricane Dorian victims. 

The then co-chair of Disaster and Reconstruction Committee, John-Michael Clarke, said at the time that the dome structures were chosen for their “resilient” structure, foreseeing they may be needed for three years or more.