Jamaicans Responding More Positively To Disaster Preparedness Efforts

Jamaicans are responding more positively to disaster preparedness efforts, says Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Leslie Harrow.

Speaking in a recent interview with JIS News, Mr. Harrow said that the culture of preparedness seems to be “catching on,” and persons are more receptive to the ODPEM’s awareness and training programmes.

“Persons are recognising that earthquakes are real and we would have had a lot of flood rains over the last year or so.

“So now, when you hear ‘disaster’ I think people are now pushing towards believing and want to be a part of any mitigation process that we may put in place. Jamaicans value life and so once it is something that is going to impact their life negatively, they’re going to take the necessary precautions,” Mr. Harrow said.

He said that now is the time for Jamaicans to be even more proactive in disaster preparedness and mitigation, given the devastating impacts of rainfall-induced flooding in October and November 2020 due to tropical cyclones that were not direct threats to the island, and a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that was felt across the entire island in January of the same year.

“The aim is to have persons listen to us and do their own research, to have persons involved with their communities, to have persons engaging others in society, so that we have an all-round effort in persons appreciating the importance of preparing for a disaster,” Mr. Harrow noted.

“It is also imperative that persons understand that the impact on the country will not necessarily be on one family but all of us and because all of us are in it together, we must look out for each other and take care of our neighbours,” he added.

The ODPEM is carrying out its Earthquake and Tsunami Awareness Campaign under the theme: ‘Reimagining Earthquake Safety to Build Resilience’.