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...

The Bamboo River drain in Morant Bay, St. Thomas, is among major channels cleared as the parish readies for Hurricane Melissa. ““I think we have done enough. There are some critical drains (in the parish) and they are cleaned like the one in Bamboo River, which is the main one,” Chief Engineering Officer at the St. Thomas Municipal Corporation, Odel...

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, is encouraging Jamaicans to remain positive as the nation prepares for the impact of category five hurricane Melissa. The system is expected to make landfall early Tuesday (October 28) as a powerful system bringing strong winds, heavy rainfall over the entire country, causing flooding and landslides. “Category five would be a really...

Critical government agencies are fully activated to respond to emergencies during Hurricane Melissa. “Already, we are seeing where persons have been reaching out, seeking assistance, and we have been responding as we get the calls, ” said Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon Desmond McKenzie. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security [MLSS]… is already working closely along...

Eleven shelters have opened in Westmoreland and are occupied, says Mayor of Savanna-la-Mar, Councillor Danree Delancy. He told JIS News in an interview that the parish continues preparedness and mitigation activities in response to the impending Hurricane Melissa. “Persons have begun taking refuge in designated facilities across the parish, including areas in eastern Westmoreland, such as Petersville,” the Mayor noted....

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, is urging residents in flood-prone and high-risk communities to utilise the island’s emergency shelters as Hurricane Melissa continues to affect Jamaica. He made the appeal while providing an update from the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) during a media briefing at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM)...