It is important for companies to have their ‘Business Continuity Planning Procedures’ in place, in the event the country experiences a major earthquake, advises the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM). “Your team should be trained in terms of your general emergency requirements, how you treat with staff, and how you ensure that persons are safe during or...

The Government has provided $868.4 million towards the Jamaica Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project, to enhance the country’s resilience to disasters and climate risk. The money has been provided in the 2023/24 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. For the upcoming fiscal year, the project seeks to commence coastal protection works in Annotto Bay, St. Mary; continue works...

The St. James Municipal Corporation is in a heightened state of readiness for the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane season, which commences on June 1 and runs until November 30. In an interview with JIS News, Parish Coordinator for Disaster Preparedness, Tamoy Sinclair, said the 65 designated emergency shelters in the parish have been inspected to ensure they are up to standard...

Minister with responsibility for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Karl Samuda, says parents of students on the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), will now be given monthly cash payments to prepare breakfast and lunch for their children while schools remain closed. He was speaking at a press  conference at Jamaica House on March 27. Public schools were...

The Government has been commended by business leaders for taking “decisive action” in providing the $25 billion stimulus, which includes a $10 billion contingency provision to address prevailing and potential fallouts from the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The provision has been earmarked to finance grants to employees, businesses, and vulnerable persons, among others who have been or are likely to be adversely...

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, says the Ministry is “up to the task” of dealing with any disaster that may affect the country. He gave the assurance as he addressed the official launch of Local Government and Community Development Month 2019 at Turtle River Park in Ocho Rios, St Ann, recently. Mr. McKenzie said the...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, today (November 1), handed over keys to residents of 194 Bay Farm Road in St. Andrew who were dislocated after a fire destroyed their home earlier this year. A one-year-old boy died in the fire. The five-bedroom structure was reconstructed under the housing component of Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) Programme. In his address,...