Jamaica’s Preparedness And Response Systems Stood Up Well To Hurricane Beryl – PM

MONTEGO BAY, July 6 (JIS):

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, is expressing confidence in Jamaica’s disaster preparedness and response systems following the passage of Hurricane Beryl.

He said that although the Government is awaiting a comprehensive post-hurricane analysis, the initial assessment suggests that the nation’s readiness measures have paid off.

“My sense is that generally our systems worked, and I can make that statement even without the objective analysis being done as yet,” he told JIS News during a tour of sections of southern parishes on Thursday (July 4), to get a firsthand look at the impact of the hurricane on communities and critical services and assess the response efforts.

Mr. Holness pointed out that the country has made considerable strides in several critical areas, including legislation, leadership direction, resource allocation, and fiscal structuring.

These measures have created a robust framework that remains operational even in non-disaster periods.

“The real test, however, is when we do the post-preparation review by going through it with the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) to see what the weaknesses were and what did not work [in order to correct these]. This is the more objective and data driven way,” Mr. Holness outlined.

He noted that initial observation and feedback suggest that Jamaica’s disaster preparedness systems remain robust and capable.