A week after Hurricane Irma plowed through the Caribbean, local and regional authorities are still surveying the scope of the damage wreaked upon several islands in the storm's path.

On Sept. 13, a delegation from Caricom, the region's 20-country economic and development group, completed its tour of islands impacted by the hurricane, with plans to mobilize "significant resources" required for the recovery effort.

The assessment showed an 'extremely high level of devastation' on several islands, as Anguilla Chief Minister Victor Banks noted. According to the Center for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction Technology, or CEDIM, losses for the region have surpassed $10 billion, making it "the worst storm of all time across the Caribbean."

While more authorities are primarily focused on immediate needs — like food and water supplies and restoring electric and telecommunication services — Caricom said that its members are also working to get "critical sectors of the economy, such as tourism and financial services, back up to speed."

Nearly all bank branches on the impacted islands shuttered their doors for days as Irma plowed through, though most reopened shortly thereafter. Among the exceptions, however, are those on the island of Barbuda, where a government assessment showed 90% of all buildings destroyed and the island's entire population of roughly 1,400 residents have been relocated to the nearby island of Antigua.

In a statement, Antigua Commercial Bank Ltd. noted that while service had been restored at all of its branches in Antigua by Sept. 7, its Barbuda operations remained closed. "We look forward to resuming banking services in Barbuda as soon as conditions permit us to do so," it said.

CEDIM's loss modelling indicated that although Barbuda had the highest relative loss, the so-called absolute losses — representing upwards of 100% of GDP — were suffered by Saint Martin and Sint Maarten, as well as the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.

Bank of Nova Scotia, which operates throughout the Caribbean through units including Scotiabank (British Virgin Islands) Ltd., Scotiabank (Bahamas) Ltd., Scotiabank (Turks and Caicos) Ltd. and Scotiabank Anguilla Ltd., said earlier in the week that it was "continuing to assess the impact on our business operations."

The Chart Watch below offers an overview of the damage caused across the Caribbean, as well as some of the major banking institutions that operate in the region.

For additional coverage of Hurricane Irma, click here to access the "Storm surge" collection of articles. Click here to set real-time alerts for data-driven articles. First, choose a delivery preference, then select Banking under Data Dispatch Latin America and click apply at the bottom of the page.