One in 500 year earthquake could cause loss of US$2bn for Jamaican infrastructure

Jamaica could lose more than US$2bn in the value of public infrastructure, including water pipelines and sewerage networks, in the event of a one in 500 year scale earthquake, according to a report from the IDB.

The effect of a one in 250-year scale hurricane would also result in a US$2.4bn loss to the infrastructure sector, according to the disaster risk profile report for Jamaica.

The report studies both urban infrastructure, including bridges, airports, ports, telecommunications, water and sewerage networks, water treatment plants and national infrastructure such as dams, primary road networks and energy installations.

In terms of urban infrastructure, port infrastructure was found to have the largest exposure to natural events at US$300mn, while sewerage systems have an exposure of US$50mn

Meanwhile, in the national infrastructure category, primary roads have the largest exposure at US$2.5bn.

Jamaica's capital Kingston is the most exposed in terms of urban infrastructure, while St. Mary has the higher exposed value on national infrastructure.

The report estimates the average annual loss due to hurricanes for urban and national infrastructure at roughly US$20mn, while loss due to earthquakes is pegged at US$5mn for urban infrastructure.