St Elizabeth fire superintendent urges vigilance as hurricane season still active
Published:Saturday | October 12, 2024 | 12:06 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
Emrick Needham, the superintendent of the St Elizabeth Fire Department, is urging locals to stay vigilant as the hurricane season is still active.
Referencing Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in Florida early Wednesday night as a major Category 3 storm, causing power outages for over two million people and resulting in 16 fatalities so far, Needham stressed the importance of life safety.
He appealed for citizens to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their farming livelihoods while adhering to necessary safety procedures.
“As we speak, the big nation, the United States, has suffered some battering and a lot of people are displaced. I want to encourage us here in Jamaica – we have gone through [Hurricane] Beryl, we’ve seen what Beryl did, and we are still not as recovered as we should be. So, continue to be vigilant in paying attention to the safety measures that we continue to ask you to put in place,” Needham said during the monthly meeting of the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation on Thursday.
Over the past week, several parishes have experienced scattered showers and thunderstorms. A three-day forecast from the Meteorological (Met) Service of Jamaica indicates afternoon showers across western parishes and hilly areas today, with late evening showers likely across southern parishes. On Sunday afternoon, showers are expected across western parishes and hilly areas, while Monday may bring widely scattered showers and thunderstorms across central and western parishes.
Currently, there are no reports indicating any immediate major weather threats to Jamaica. The Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1 to November 30.
In his report to the council, Needham also noted that the St Elizabeth division of the Jamaica Fire Brigade responded to 88 emergency calls in September. This marks a 28 per cent decrease compared to August, which saw 123 calls. Last month, the Fire Brigade responded to 65 genuine fires, eight malicious or false alarms, 14 special service calls, and one motor vehicle accident.