More

Preliminary reports from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), on the effect of Hurricane Dean on the major sectors, indicate that agriculture took a beating from the heavy winds associated with the system, with banana and vegetable production the worst affected. Director General of ODPEM, Ronald Jackson, who gave statistics on the damage to the industry on...

The Jamaica Public Service (JPS) is projecting that by September 9 it would have completed its work and restored power to all customers. As at the end of the workday on Thursday (Aug. 23), the company had restored power to 225,000 or 42 per cent of its 560, 000 customers, said Corporate Communications Officer, Ruthlyn Johnson at a press conference...

The hurricane damage assessment process is advanced in Portland, with some 600 interviews conducted so far, said Acting Manager for Public Assistance at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security's Port Antonio office, Maxwell Hamilton. The exercise, which started on Monday (Aug. 20), is to determine the extent of damage and loss suffered by residents from Hurricane Dean, which passed...

The Land Titles and Survey and Mapping Divisions of the National Land Agency (NLA), located at 93 Hanover Street and 23

President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Jamaica, Michael Conway, has said that "in five years time, we will have maybe 20 to 30 aircraft in our fleet". There are 17 aircraft in the airline's current fleet of which 14 have been scheduled and three are going through routine maintenance. "We are very active in securing acquisitions," Mr. Conway told...

High Commissioner to Canada, Evadne Coye, has urged Jamaican organizations in Canada to collaborate with Jamaican official representatives to facilitate rapid response to the appeals from the country, in the aftermath of Hurricane Dean. "To ensure the most effective means of achieving our common objective, the various community organizations should collaborate with the Jamaican official representatives," she emphasized. The official...

Flour and rice should be back on the shelves today (August 24), following quick restoration of power to the Jamaica Flour Mills Limited in East Kingston by the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo). Managing Director of the Jamaica Flour Mills, Derrick Nembhard, told JIS News in an interview that the company was able to produce the required amount of flour...

The St. Thomas Parish Council is working with relief agencies to offer assistance to residents in the parish affected by Hurricane Dean. St. Thomas is one of the parishes worst affected by the hurricane and according to Mayor Joan Spencer "every single district in St. Thomas got damage. Some were more severe than others but every single one got damaged."...

The Chinese Red Cross has donated US$30,000 to its Jamaican counterpart for the purchase of emergency relief supplies to assist persons affected by Hurricane Dean. Ambassador of the People's Republic of China, Chen Jinghua, who presented the cheque on behalf of the Chinese Red Cross today (Aug. 24) at the Chinese Embassy in Kingston, said that the donation "reflects the...

Some 3,800 farmers in St. James have suffered losses as a result of Hurricane Dean, with approximately 640 hectares (1,600 acres) of fruit and vegetable crops valued at more than $64 million destroyed. Preliminary estimates from the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) reveal that more than 80 per cent of banana cultivation in the southern sections of the parish was...

Areas Impacted The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is reporting that over the past two days at least 10 initial damage assessment field visits, coordinated by the ODPEM, have been undertaken in the parishes of St Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, St. Elizabeth and Kingston and St. Andrew. The teams consisted of representatives of donor agencies and were led...

The general election, which was previously scheduled for Monday, August 27, 2007 will now be held on Monday, September 3, 2007. In a proclamation released today (August 24) by Governor-General, His Excellency, the Most Hon. Professor Kenneth Hall, it is stated that in light of the passage across Jamaica of Hurricane Dean on August 19 and the consequent damage and...