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The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) has received confirmed reports from the WRA that the water levels of the Bog Walk Gorge is now at nine feet and is deemed impassable. Motorists are being urged to use the alternative route of Slygoville. A Flash Flood Watch is currently in effect for low-lying and flood-prone areas of Kingston...

KINGSTON — Minister of Housing, Environment and Water, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, says that Jamaica and other developing countries are fully on board in meeting the requirements to address climate change. He said that significant progress was made at a meeting in Panama last week, with a draft text prepared, on most of the areas on which there will be...

KINGSTON — A much more attractive display of flowers and plants should greet visitors to National Heroes Park in Kingston this Heroes Week-end, after a $4 million irrigation well was commissioned into service by the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) at the park on Friday (October 7). Speaking at the ceremony, Executive Director of the NSWMA, Joan Gordon-Webley, said...

KINGSTON — Minister of Housing, Environment and Water, Hon Dr. Horace Chang, underwent surgery last night at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), Mona, where was admitted with a broken shoulder following a motor vehicle accident in St. Catherine, Wednesday (September 28). Doctors performed x-rays Wednesday to determine the extent of his injuries, and decided last night that...

KINGSTON — Minister of Housing, Environment and Water, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, signed four major contracts Tuesday (September 27), valued at some $2.8 billion, to improve water systems across Jamaica. Under the projects, the Clarks Town water system, which takes water from the Martha Brae water treatment plant, will provide an improved supply to areas such as Duncans, Silversand, Spicy...

KINGSTON — Environmental issues will be among the key points for discussion at the upcoming series of public consultations on the Draft Minerals Policy, to be hosted by the Ministry of Energy and Mining (MEM). The document is entitled, The National Minerals Policy: Fostering Sustainability in Jamaica's Minerals Industry. The month-long consultations, set to begin on October 26, will cover...

KINGSTON — Project Manager, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Kirk Frankson, has informed that the agency will be rolling out a pilot phase of the Jamaica Landslide Risk Reduction Project in four at-risk communities across the island. Speaking at a  JIS ‘Think Tank’ today (September 23), Mr. Frankson noted that the agency has not yet completed the...

The Ministry of Housing, Environment and Water welcomes and endorses the 3rd staging of the China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Co-operation Forum which will be held this month in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The two day Forum, which will be held on September 12 and 13, under the theme “Development Co-operation, Win for All”, is aimed at further deepening...

KINGSTON — The lives of over 1,200 residents in the communities of Richmond and Cane Heap, St. Mary, are expected to be significantly enhanced with the resuscitation of the Serjue Spring water supply system, which serves both areas. The system, which was commissioned into service during a ceremony at the Richmond Road United Church on August 24, was upgraded at...

KINGSTON — The Jamaica Defence Force's (JDF) search and rescue (SAR) efforts will be enhanced during the current hurricane season with the support of Operation JAGUAR, under which a Canadian military team will provide assistance. Launched on Tuesday August 23 at a flag raising ceremony at the JDF Air Wing in Kingston, Operation JAGUAR resulted from a request by the...

KINGSTON — Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Ronald Jackson, says Jamaica and its partners are on standby to provide emergency assistance in the event that Hurricane Irene impacts the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas.  According to the National Hurricane Centre, the weather system could reach Turks and Caicos by this afternoon,...

KINGSTON — Minister of Housing, Environment and Water, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, is pleased with the compost project being undertaken by the National Solid Waste Management Authority at the Riverton City landfill. He said that the idea to develop compost from organic material is an excellent initiative on the part of the agency. “It is environmentally-friendly, it gives good cash...