Storm Warning!
JAMAICANS, especially those in southern parishes, should by now be feeling the effects of heavy rains and winds from the latest weather system, which experts said would have begun affecting the island from last night.
By late yesterday, the system was just over 250 miles south-east of Kingston and moving westward at a speed of 20 miles per hour, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declaring that environmental conditions were conducive to further strengthening of the system.
Yesterday, at a joint press conference of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and the Meteorological Services Division, at Jamaica House, an appeal was made for residents in flood-prone areas to evacuate using, if necessary, the services of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company that has been put on alert to help citizens to safer ground.
The appeal was issued by Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie who stressed that individuals, particularly those in flood-prone areas such as Portland Cottage and Rocky Point in Clarendon, and Kintyre and New Haven in St Andrew — which have been devastated and seen lives lost in previous weather events — should heed the warnings.
The minister also highlighted the risk being taken by people occupying low-lying offshore land masses such as Pedro Cays.
“We can’t put the lives of the soldiers at risk out there I’m begging persons to come to somewhere where it is much safer. We are urging those persons out there to respect the order issued by the Jamaica Defence Force,” he implored.
The appeal again brings into sharp focus the urgent need for legislation to have mandatory evacuation of these areas. The regulations to the Disaster Risk Management Act, which would give effect to forced evacuations in these areas, are yet to be finalised, even though the Act was passed in Parliament almost two years ago.
McKenzie assured, yesterday, that the regulations would be given the nod before the end of the current parliamentary year.
He advised that parish councils should not have any challenges implementing flood-mitigation activities at this time as they are authorised to use two months of their parochial revenue fund allocation for drain cleaning. He pointed out that the Government has set aside $250 million for that purpose.
Meanwhile, head of the Met Service, Evan Thompson, said the system was rapidly moving westward over the west central Caribbean, which was a positive for Jamaica, but indicated that things could worsen.
“Currently we are at the stage of a tropical storm warning for the country, that could even be escalated, and depending on the information that comes to us later we could eventually hear of that intensifying even more,” he told journalists.
As for the swiftness of the system, he noted that, “This is not the usual speed of a tropical wave, and with this fast movement, it would not be able to generate significant strength as it moves past the Jamaica area. That’s what is expected that it will retain its status as a tropical storm,” he explained.
In the meantime, Information Minister Senator Ruel Reid said: “It is now recommended that all mass events currently under way and those planned for tomorrow through Wednesday afternoon, August 3, be postponed.”
The National Emergency Operation Centre at the ODPEM has been activated, he also advised. The ODPEM is responsible for managing the coordination efforts of the various response agencies such as the National Solid Waste Management Authority and the Jamaica Fire Brigade.
According to the information minister, 24 hospitals have been making preparations, and patients who can be discharged are being sent home, while health centres have been instructed to secure their vaccines.