With the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially under way and projected to be highly active, the St. James Municipal Corporation is ramping up disaster preparedness efforts across the parish. During the Corporation’s Disaster Preparedness, Hazard Mitigation and Safety Committee meeting on Thursday (June 19), Spatial Planner, Ricardo Miller, reported that a sensitisation workshop was conducted with 33 shelter managers on...

Jamaica will benefit from up to US$500,000 in grant support to strengthen disaster resilience and recovery under a new Disaster Risk Reduction Programme for the Caribbean. The initiative involves collaboration among the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Food Programme (WFP), with the invaluable support of...

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.