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Following the meeting of the National Disaster Committee (NDC) convened at the Office of the Prime Minister on Wednesday June 10, 2013, chaired by the Honourable Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) has activated the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) at level 1. The Prime Minister head of the NDC after receiving...

A Tropical Storm Watch remains in effect for Jamaica as weakening Tropical Storm Chantal moves quickly westward and could pass close to the island’s eastern coastline. This means that tropical storm conditions pose a possible threat to Jamaica within 36 hours. At 1:00 p.m. the centre of Tropical Storm Chantal was estimated to be near Latitude 16.5 degrees North, Longitude...

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) has been advised by The Meteorological Service that a Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Jamaica as Tropical Storm Chantal moves westward and could pass close to the island’s eastern coastline. The ODPEM is advising that the storm could possibly impact the eastern sections of the island if it shifts...

Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Lt. Col. Oral Khan, says that while Small Island Developing States (SIDS) such as Jamaica, are not the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, they must play a part in the mitigation agenda. He said that as Jamaica works towards Vision 2030, “we recognise that we not...

The quality and reliability of water supply to over 200,000 residents in the Corporate Area should be significantly improved, as the Mona and Hope water treatment plants have been rehabilitated at a cost of $1.6 billion. The two facilities have a combined output of more than 40 per cent of the National Water Commission’s (NWC) water production capacity in Kingston...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Ian Hayles, is encouraging young people to think carefully, then make decisions that will advance their lives. Speaking at a RISE Life Management Services awards ceremony for the Inner-City Youth Recycling Income Generation Project competition, on July 3, on East Street, downtown Kingston, Mr. Hayles said...

The effects of the current economic climate on Member States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the framework within which the Community can achieve growth and development will be a major agenda item at the upcoming Thirty-fourth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM. The meeting begins in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago with an Opening Ceremony on...

The National Works Agency (NWA) in collaboration with the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Mines & Geology Division of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy & Mining (MSTEM) and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is advising road users that Geotechnical investigative works will be carried out along sections of Gordon Town Road in St. Andrew and the...

Regional Small Island Developing States (SIDS) must place high on the agenda of next year’s SIDS conference, the issue of highly indebted countries being categorised as middle income countries. Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, said that the classification, while indicative of progress, has limited the ability of small island states to access concessionary and...

Over $1 billion has been spent to improve the delivery of potable water to several communities in south eastern St. Catherine and its environs, says Minister of State in the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Colin Fagan. The improvements, which were completed in May 2013, fall under the Portmore Pipeline Project implemented by the National Water Commission...

The National Land Agency (NLA) issued 6,292 new titles during the 2012/13 fiscal year, as the Government continued efforts to put the important document into the hands of Jamaicans. Minister of State in the Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Ian Hayles, made the announcement during his recent Sectoral presentation in the House of Representatives. He informed...

The Ministry of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change is to spend $8 million towards sustainable land management and water security within the Yallahs River and Hope River Watershed Management Units, among other things, this year. Making the disclosure in his contribution to the 2013/14 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, June 26, portfolio Minister, Hon. Robert...