The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) and the St. James Municipal Corporation carried out a massive operation in Catherine Hall and Westgreen on Tuesday (November 4), commencing the clean-up of the parish following the passage of Hurricane Melissa. The initiative is aimed at restoring normalcy to communities that have been severely affected by the storm, which made landfall on...

Effective immediately, the Office Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) has been reassigned to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM). A new Director General, Commander Alvin Gayle, has also been appointed. He has been seconded from the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) to take leadership and streamline the operations of the entity. This was disclosed by Prime Minister, Dr. the...

Municipal Corporations that were not affected by the recent passage of Hurricane Melissa have been mobilised to assist those whose operations have been severely disrupted. This was stated by Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, during the November 3 special media briefing at Jamaica House. “As you know, seven of the municipalities have been severely affected...

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie says all designated hurricane shelters will remain open for as long as they are needed to facilitate persons affected by the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Providing an update at a press briefing at the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) in Kingston, on October 28, Minister McKenzie informed that close to 15,000...

The Government remains committed to investing in the improvement of emergency shelters. This assurance comes from Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, who reaffirmed the Administration’s dedication to strengthening shelter facilities across the island. “We’ll be [looking] over the next couple of years, starting next year, to improve on our shelters. I will not deny that...

Hurricane Melissa has begun shifting northwest and remains on track to make landfall in Jamaica early Tuesday morning (October 28) as a powerful Category Five cyclone. Principal Director of the Meteorological Services Branch in the Ministry of Water, Environment and Climate Change, Evan Thompson, said the hurricane is currently positioned just over 100 miles south of the island. “What we...

Residents of Trelawny and St. Ann are being urged to relocate to shelters before it is too late. Despite a broad network of emergency shelters set up at schools across both parishes in anticipation of the impact of Hurricane Melissa, occupancy levels remain low, prompting officials to issue a public plea to persons living in vulnerable areas. “We have some...