Better response - Gov't overhauling approach to disaster management, Clarendon gets special attention
Published:Friday | June 8, 2018 | 12:00 AMBrian Walker/Staff Reporter
Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie says that the Government is determined to stop the painful cycle of playing catch-up after disasters and the constant diverting of development funds to finance clean-up and restoration activities.
"The country has lost billions of dollars in this way," McKenzie stated during his address at the launch of the National Hurricane Preparedness Campaign hosted by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), yesterday. He said that mitigation efforts need to move beyond the minister designating funds for members of Parliament to do drain cleaning.
McKenzie reasoned that all Jamaicans should play a role in securing their environs by "the way we trim our trees, the way we dispose of our garbage, storing cement and sand and gravel and blocks on our roadways".
The local government minister announced that large-scale intervention would start in Clarendon, one of the most flood-prone parishes.
He explained: "We are going to be retrofitting shelters in these communities. These shelters ... will include water-storage facilities, sanitary conveniences and this is a major issue."
Evan Thompson, director, Meteorological Service of Jamaica, explained that the hurricane season was expected to be above normal with 10 to 16 tropical storms, five to nine hurricanes, and between one and four major hurricanes.
Delmaris White, director of information and training at the ODPEM, disclosed that the agency would be conducting town hall meetings across the island, a women's forum, and a youth expo in a push to highlight the challenges these groups could face. These initiatives would be complemented by a media campaign.