Access Being Restored to Marooned Communities – PM

Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, has informed that work is being carried out to restore access to the 13 communities in St. Thomas, Portland, St. Andrew, and St. Catherine, that remain marooned because of landslides and breakaways.
“Work continues to restore access. Where roads are blocked by landslides, these are being cleared. In instances where road sections have collapsed rendering the road impassable, corrective works will inevitably take more time, but will be implemented as a matter of urgency,” Mr. Golding said during his statement to the House of Representatives yesterday (Sept. 2).
He also noted that the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), has been air-lifting food supplies to affected communities.
Meanwhile, approximately 25,000 or four per cent of the total number of Jamaica Public Service Company(JPSco) customers are still without electricity.
“The delay in completing the restoration is due more to the lack of access to where the fault is located because of damage to roads than to the severity of the fault. Work continues in collaboration with the National Works Agency (NWA) and communities without electricity will be gradually restored leading to full restoration by the end of the week,” Mr. Golding said.
He also informed that a number of water supply systems were disrupted or damaged by the dislocation of pipelines, blocked intakes, or turbidity.
Mr. Golding noted that National Water Commission (NWC), crews are working at full strength to carry out the necessary repairs.
“A number of systems remain non-functional until electricity is restored to the particular area or until work crews are able to gain access to the installations,” the Prime Minister told the House. Approximately 85 per cent of water supply systems are currently in operation.