488 Persons In Shelters

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says 488 persons are now in shelters across Jamaica.

“More shelters are coming on and more persons are going in,” he further advised.

The Prime Minister was speaking during a visit to the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), located at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) in Kingston on Wednesday (July 3).

Mr. Holness said he was advised that ODPEM has adequate supplies and provisions to ensure that the needs of persons in shelters are addressed.

“So the issue now is to ensure there is constant transportation from your central base, or if you have pre-positioned, to those areas in need,” he added.

The Prime Minister said it is important to ensure that “those who are in shelters are comfortable and their needs are met.”

“So my next request for report is how are the persons in shelters being treated… their level of comfort, that they can feel safe and satisfied and are not so discomforted that they want to go back to a worse situation,” he pointed out.

Mr. Holness also informed that there have been reports of storm surge affecting certain parts of Jamaica, including St. Thomas, adding that he expects to hear some reports coming out of the south western end of the island, such as Portland Cottage in Clarendon.

“That means that the Government will have to mobilise persons very quickly to ensure that the coastal infrastructure, which is critical to the road network, can be cleared very quickly,” he said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Holness indicated that Hurricane Beryl is expected to be a quick moving weather event, noting that he has not received any reports of deaths due to the storm.