JUST IN: Prisoners being relocated from Fort Augusta as Hurricane Matthew approaches

Damion Mitchell, Editor - Radio & Online 

Inmates at the Fort Augusta Adult Correctional Centre in Portmore, St Catherine are now being transferred to the Horizon Adult Remand Centre in Kingston amid the threat of Hurricane Matthew.

Fort Augusta, Jamaica's only female facility, is located on the coast and is threatened by storm surges and high tides.

There are also concerns about the strength of some buildings at the facility.

For some time now, several dormitories have been abandoned because they are disintegrating..

In the meantime, the National Security Minister, Robert Montague, told The Gleaner a short while ago that all trainee warders are also being assigned to the island's remand and correctional facilities to help boost security.

At the same time, he says all prisons have been stocked with additional food and water and standby generators have been refuelled in the likely event of a power outage during the hurricane.

The Fort Augusta Adult Correctional Facility now houses just over 100 female inmates.

The Department of Correctional Services manages just over 4,000 inmates in seven adult prisons, one remand centre and four juvenile facilities.