Govt Conducting Damage and Welfare Assessments

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, says that damage and welfare assessments are being carried out following heavy rainfall over the weekend, which caused severe flooding in some areas.

The evaluations are being conducted by representatives from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Prime Minister said.

She was speaking to JIS News on October 1 following a high level meeting at Jamaica House involving officials from agencies engaged in emergency management.

The Prime Minister expressed sadness at the death of a 19-year-old woman in St. Catherine, after the motor car in which she was travelling was washed away by flood waters. "The government expresses its condolences to her family," she remarked.

She further informed that six persons were rescued from vehicles that were washed away in Sligoville, St. Catherine. "We hope that they are doing well," she expressed.

In the meantime, she is urging Jamaicans, especially those in flood-prone areas, to remain alert as the country braces for more inclement weather.

She advised residents in low-lying communities to seek shelter in higher areas, where possible, and to continue to monitor weather bulletins from the island’s emergency services.

The Meteorological Service has reported that the broad area of low pressure, which remains just over the western Caribbean, will continue to influence weather conditions across Jamaica for the next 48 hours.

"Tonight, we're expecting some lingering showers and thunder storms, while tomorrow, it will be partly cloudy and windy, with isolated thunder storms over hilly inland areas, particularly during the afternoon," Acting Director of the Met Service, Jeffery Spooner, advised.

He further told JIS News that, "We are expecting just isolated thunder storms mainly over hilly interior areas up to Friday."