Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham is expected to meet today with representatives from Morton Salt company's home office in the Untied States to receive a full report on the Inagua hurricane damage assessments they conducted during the past week and indications about their future plans.

Morton, the main employer in Inagua, suffered serious damage to its administrative offices, warehouse and docking facilities, Ingraham reported in the House of Assembly yesterday during a comprehensive communication on the recent hurricane and its impact on The Bahamas.

Inagua was hardest hit by the hurricane, although other southern islands were impacted as well.

By Monday, the Department of Social Services had completed assessments of 249 houses on the island, according to the prime minister. Some 201 received major damage; four had minor damage; two had extensive damage and four were destroyed, leaving seven people homeless in Inagua.

Ingraham said the majority of houses on the island were uninsured against hurricane damage. As a result, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) will be required to assist at a minimum with the supply of construction materials required to complete needed repairs.

"Many, many structures ? private residences and businesses ? sustained significant damage," Ingraham said. "The electricity network, owned and operated by Morton salt, was destroyed; water supplies and land telecommunications were also interrupted, although cellular or mobile telephone services remained in operation."

For the purpose of accessing hurricane reconstruction relief, NEMA will adopt the established criteria used to determine eligibility under existing community assistance programs for the elderly, the disabled, and for low-income and/or indigent individuals, the prime minister added. Recipients must be Bahamian citizens residing in The Bahamas in owner-occupied homes during the hurricane.

"Already, duty-free importation of construction materials is available to Inaguans under the provisions of the Family Island Development Act," Ingraham pointed out. "An exigency order which I propose to sign in the near term will provide for duty-free importation of replacement furniture, household appliances and vehicles, which can be documented to have been destroyed during the course of Hurricane Ike through Inagua."

He reported that recovery efforts will be undertaken on a number of fronts: Infrastructure repair, including the island's dock, utility repairs and the repair of government-owned buildings such as the airport, school and administrative buildings.

"In addition to access to supplies to assist with reconstruction and repair of uninsured primary residences, residents in Inagua will also have access to concessionary loans as they seek to recover from damage to their businesses, primary residence and/or vehicles," Ingraham said.

Additionally, the prime minister reported in the House of Assembly that some school buildings received structural damage, but school resumed on Tuesday. He said, however, some parents in Inagua expressed concern about what they regard as mold in some classrooms and also about the general fitness of some classrooms.

As a result, school will be closed until further appropriate assessments can be undertaken and decisions made as to how best to minimize the interruption of Inagua's children's education and how best to do so in a safe and healthy way, Ingraham said.

Additionally, he informed that both BEC, which is slated to take over the Morton Salt electricity supply at the end of this month, and Grand Bahama Power Company, have teams working on restoring electricity in the shortest possible time.

"The restoration of power supply is pending the completion of a house to house inspection and running up of the Mathew Town Power Station by a Morton Bahamas team," the prime minister said.

By CANDIA DAMES