30 People In Shelters In St. James

Approximately 30 people are being accommodated in eight shelters in St. James as the parish intensifies its readiness for the impact of Hurricane Melissa.

Speaking with JIS News, Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Richard Vernon, said that the other shelters will open as needed.

“Calls have been made for two more to be activated this morning. So, we’re going to activate those two, and then we will be activating the other ones as soon as persons call in and request the use of the shelters,” he noted.

Mayor Vernon shared that among the facilities opened are the homeless shelter at Jarrett Park and the designated tourism shelter at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.

He said that no tourists have entered shelters, so far, and some of the homeless are still reluctant to leave the streets.

The Mayor said that transportation has been placed on standby to assist with relocation of the homeless.

“I think that they will take it more seriously as soon as the system heads in our direction but, for now, we have our deputy inspector on the ground trying to encourage them to go into the shelter. However, we can’t have our team out there indefinitely because they will be at risk,” he said.

Residents living in flood-prone or vulnerable structures are being urged to evacuate early and either use official shelters or seek safer accommodation with relatives.

The Mayor further encouraged the public to stay connected to official sources and act before conditions deteriorate.

“Just continue to pay attention to the bulletins. Try to get as much information from your local authority. Know your shelter manager’s contact or the contact for the parish coordinator, and just try to get in touch.

Know the emergency numbers and don’t wait until the system is upon us and doing damage. Call before, because it is harder for us to provide rescue than for you to be proactive,” he implored.

The St. James Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) has been activated, and emergency teams remain on standby. A strategy meeting is scheduled for later this evening to coordinate post-impact response.

Mayor Vernon told JIS News that most of the physical preparedness, including drain clearing and inspection of known risk areas, was completed earlier in the season.

“So, it’s really a wait-and-see situation,” he said.

Mayor Vernon warned against complacency, reminding residents that ignoring early warnings has had dangerous consequences in the past.

“We’re not a novice as a country to these types of threats. We face them every year and sometimes they play out, sometimes they don’t, but we must always take them seriously. I’m urging persons to take this one seriously as well,” he said.