St James
‘We don’t want it to come, but we’re 100 per cent ready’
Published:Tuesday | July 2, 2024 | 12:09 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC) on Monday ramped up its preparations for a looming Hurricane Beryl, outfitting emergency shelters and cleaning gullies and drains.
Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon, who chairs the StJMC, said on Monday that a meeting was held previously with shelter managers across the parish to ensure that the registered shelters are adequately equipped.
“The StJMC is in a state of awareness and readiness and is doing the necessary due diligence to ensure that all the protocols are in place for the preparation of the system we are expecting this week. We have also met with our sister agencies to ensure they have done their part, to ensure that their emergency plans are in place and ready to be activated,” Vernon told The Gleaner.
“We have about 58 shelters ready ... . They have access for persons with disabilities, and at the moment, they (shelter managers) are delivering supplies to the shelters across the municipality,” Vernon added.
He said a list of shut-ins and vulnerable persons has been compiled and arrangements made to pick them up in case of an emergency. Other citizens who need emergency transportation will also be assisted.
Vernon noted that additional meetings are to be held to ascertain all stakeholder agencies’ level of readiness and that Montego Bay’s North and South gullies, which have a history of overflowing during stormy weather, are being cleaned.
“We carry out a routine operation, but now we are just double checking and ensuring that all the outlets are cleared and ready to facilitate any stormwater,” the mayor said.
On Monday morning, Jamaica was placed under a hurricane watch as a Category 4 Beryl seemed on course to pass just south of the island.
Lennox Wallace, parish manager for the St James Health Services, urged residents to head to the nearest available shelter for safety if advised to relocate there from their homes.
“The shelter list is prepared, and we want to ask the residents, should there be a hurricane, to use the shelters as best as possible and to ensure that they remain safe inside. Working with the StJMC, we would have provided cots, blankets, food, etc, so as far as preparation is concerned, we are ready. Not that we want it to come, but we are 100 per cent ready should a hurricane reach us in any way,” said Wallace.