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Prime Minister P. J. Patterson has said that all visitors to the island were safe and there had been no threat to the security of any foreign citizen, nor has a single visitor to the island been subject to danger during and in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan. The Prime Minister, who was speaking to hoteliers and other business operators...

The National Water Commission (NWC) has restored more than 100 water supply systems islandwide and is working assiduously to bring even more back in operation in the shortest possible time, Corporate Public Relations Manager of the Commission, Charles Buchanan, has said. In an interview with JIS News, Mr. Buchanan noted that the NWC "normally operates some 400 water supply systems...

Industry and Tourism Minister, Aloun Ndombet-Assamba has said that the majority of the island's resort areas were up and running, while others were on a speedy recovery path, following the passage of Hurricane Ivan. In a statement released today (September 16), she noted that Jamaica was blessed with no less than six distinct resort areas, four of which were open...

Prime Minister P. J. Patterson has said that the government would be working to get the agriculture sector back into full production as quickly as possible following the devastation to farm lands by Hurricane Ivan. Mr. Patterson, who was speaking to business operators in Negril yesterday (Sept. 15) at the Negril Gardens Hotel, said that the ministries of Agriculture, Commerce,...

Relief and emergency supplies are being provided for the thousands of persons who have been displaced from their homes as result of Hurricane Ivan, which swept the island over the weekend. Nadene Newsome, Director of Information and Training at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), told JIS News yesterday (Sept. 15), that food supplies were being distributed...

Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has assured residents of Portland Cottage which was devastated by hurricane Ivan, that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security would be setting up a registration centre at the Portland Cottage All Age School to facilitate residents affected by the hurricane. The centre would begin registering persons in need of assistance as of Thursday September 16....

Jamaicans overseas are extending support to their homeland as the country begins the recovery and reconstruction process in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan. A Hurricane Relief Committee, comprising 14 persons from various Jamaican associations in Canada, has been formed to coordinate relief efforts from that country. Jamaica's Consul General to Toronto, Vivia Betton, who heads the group, told JIS News...

The Embassy of Jamaica in Washington is continuing to reach out to the Jamaican community, and Americans at large, to update them on the devastation caused to the island by Hurricane Ivan, and to solicit assistance. The Mission has been designated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade as the main emergency co-ordinating hub for North America, regarding...

Transport and Works Minister, Robert Pickersgill has commended the quality of work delivered by the contractors of both the Northern Coastal Highway Improvement Programme and Highway 2000, as those thoroughfares withstood the onslaught of Hurricane Ivan. The North Coast Highway suffered no significant damage, except for the Bengal Bridge, at the border of Trelawny and St. Thomas, noted the Minister...

The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) is reporting that approximately 170,000 of 500,000 households are now being supplied with electricity following a suspension of service as a result of damage to its system during Hurricane Ivan. Addressing journalists at a press briefing at the company's New Kingston office yesterday (Sept.14), Senior Vice President in charge of Generation, Robert Patrick said...

The National Works Agency (NWA) has been commended by the Minister of Transport and Works, Robert Pickersgill, for its first-rate response to the reconstruction of the nation's road network, in the wake of Hurricane Ivan. Speaking with JIS News, the Minister praised the NWA's efficient and speedy response to the over 300 distress calls made to its emergency lines over...

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) has stepped up its operations and has been working to clear main roads and other public places of debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan. Chairman of the NSWMA, Alston Stewart, told JIS News that employees had been working additional shifts, while tipper trucks have been deployed across the island. In addition to...