MoBay mayor: We were spared the worst
Published:Friday | July 5, 2024 | 12:09 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Despite the loss of electricity and mobile-service connectivity in sections of St James following Hurricane Beryl as well as some roads being impassable due to downed trees, Montego Bay’s Mayor, Richard Vernon, is voicing gratitude that the municipality did not experience any worse catastrophes from the storm.
“In general, Montego Bay is in good standing compared to the reports that we are getting across the island, which are not necessarily good, especially in the southern section. But we are relatively good compared to what we have heard, and we have been spared the worst, and we are grateful for that,” Vernon declared on Thursday during a press conference at the St James Municipal Corporation.
He was giving an update on St James’ current status of recovery following Beryl’s passage near Jamaica a day earlier.
Various communities across Jamaica were lashed by heavy winds and rain and suffered incidents of flooding associated with Beryl, which was designated a Category 4 hurricane and the strongest storm to affect the country since Hurricane Dean in 2007.
Regarding St James itself, Vernon indicated that while there were several fallen trees along the roadway from Westgate to the Dumfries area, there were no reports of significant damage to buildings or property.
“In general, the damage is not as extensive as we were anticipating given the category of the system that was approaching Jamaica as reported by the Meteorological Centre, but we have to ensure that we mobilise our units and clear whatever damage was done so that we can get to a level of normalcy, and we expect to reopen for business fully within the next 24 hours. To our attention and knowledge thus far, based on the preliminary assessment, the roadway that has sustained the most damage is the one from Westgate all the way to the Dumfries area. There is no significant damage to the infrastructure itself, but there are many fallen trees,” said Vernon.
“We also have a major concern with electricity, and I’m not certain as to the percentage of citizens that are without electricity at the moment, but I know that it is a significant percentage and that many large communities are out of electricity. However, we got some communication from the Jamaica Public Service Company earlier, and they are checking all the critical areas to ensure that the lines are in good standing,” Vernon continued.
“The JPS are doing all the impact assessments themselves to ensure that everything is in good condition before they energise the lines and restore electricity to the citizens of Montego Bay and St James. As for the communications companies, we are yet to get updates from them, but I am confident that they are doing the same because communication is imperative to what we are doing now.”
It was also disclosed that while all 58 of St James’ designated shelters had been activated, only 23 of them were used during the passage of Beryl. Additionally, 125 persons were recorded by the municipal corporation as having used the shelters, with the largest number of persons at any one shelter being 14 individuals.
A more detailed impact assessment concerning Beryl’s effects on St James, along with an estimated cost of damage, is expected to be completed for presentation by next week.