The Government has affirmed its commitment to ensuring that systems of accountability continue to work during disasters. Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, said that there is an expectation that the Government is at liberty to suspend or ignore rules in the disbursement of public resources. Addressing the National Disaster Risk Management Council Meeting, held on June 4...

The St. Elizabeth Municipal Corporation has begun intensive preparations for the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season, which runs from June 1 to November 30, with shelter inspections already under way since January. The new Acting Parish Disaster Coordinator at the St. Elizabeth Municipal Corporation, Rasha A. Lloyd, told JIS News that special attention is being given to facilities damaged during Hurricane...

The Government is looking to incorporate the Social Development Commission (SDC) in preparations for the 2025 Hurricane Season. This was disclosed by Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, while speaking during the SDC’s inaugural National Staff Summit on Tuesday (May 6). The event was held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston under the theme...

Over $1.5 billion in direct assistance has been disbursed to families across the island who were affected by Hurricane Beryl last year. Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., gave the update at the presentation of cheques under Rebuild Jamaica to over 100 hurricane victims in St. Elizabeth at Newell in the parish on Wednesday (March 19)....

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. (right), speaks with Hurricane Beryl relief cheque beneficiary Lorna Langley (left) while holding her grandson Nickao Beech. Occasion was the cheque handover ceremony at the St. Gabriel's Anglican Church in May Pen, Clarendon, on March 11.

More than 100 residents of communities in Old Harbour, St. Catherine, have received support under the Government’s Rebuild Jamaica initiative for persons who were impacted by Hurricane Beryl in July. Sixty-nine persons in the Old Harbour Road area and 33 residents from Old Harbour received cheques worth $50,000, $150,000 and $400,000, based on the severity of damage done to their...

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as part of its support to the Government of Jamaica’s hurricane Beryl recovery programme, has donated small grants and inputs to 54 female micro business owners impacted by the hurricane. The beneficiaries, who are from the parishes of Clarendon, Manchester and St. Elizabeth, received chickens, feed, irrigation and other farm supplies. The initiative was...