CLARENDON, Jamaica— Prime Minister Andrew Holness says the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is playing a crucial role in efforts to assist Jamaicans to recover from the impact of Hurricane Beryl, including assisting in security, humanitarian relief and the rebuilding process.

The prime minister was speaking during a visit to the JDF’s First of Response Base at Portland Cottage in Clarendon on Saturday.

In his address, Holness said Jamaica has a well-established disaster preparedness response mechanism which is coordinated through the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM).

The prime minister noted that ODPEM coordinates with several ministries and entities including the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the Ministry of Health, local municipal authorities, the police and the JDF, which all feed into the country’s response mechanism, governed by the National Disaster Risk Management Council.

“So the JDF acts as a multiplier of the resources that may exist in the standing agencies. For example, the JDF will be assisting with the humanitarian relief, the JDF will be assisting with assessment. I give you a particular way in which the JDF has assisted. There is no reason why the Ministry of Labour and Social Security should have a drone but the JDF has those capabilities and so they deployed their drones to be able to do rapid aerial assessments, which has really enhanced our capabilities to do these assessments and to get very granular and to see the scale of damage,” Holness said.

The prime minister disclosed that he met with most of the stakeholders involved in the Hurricane Beryl recovery effort and clarified their roles and responsibilities.

“The JDF is not going to be leading the response. The JDF is there to support the response. So all the line entities have that responsibility to both define what the functions and roles are and to actually lead them, and the JDF will act in support. Nevertheless, the JDF does have the residual responsibility for the security of the area,” Holness commented.

He further stated that the JDF is present in Rocky Point, Portland Cottage, Mitchell Town and Lionel Town along with other areas of the island to give the assurance that there will be maintenance of law and order.

“We would not want the terrible disaster to be compounded by a break in law and order. That would just be tragic. Therefore, the JDF is here also, with the support of the JCF to ensure that this area remains stable and in good public order. Outside of that, the JDF will also assist with reconstruction. We had a very detailed discussion as to how that will work and we will make those details public very shortly,” the prime minister said.