NWC Emergency Protocols in Place
By: , October 25, 2025
Photo: Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Matthew Samuda, addressing a special press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister on October 25.
Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Matthew Samuda, addressing a special press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister on October 25.The Full Story
The National Water Commission’s (NWC) emergency protocols are now fully in place, says Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Matthew Samuda.
He provided the update during a special press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister on Saturday (Oct. 25).
“We have moved to secure power supply additionally for our loading bays, for our trucking services. We have also moved to secure accommodation very close to our loading bays for the officers who will need to be in place so that trucks can immediately start to move once we have the all clear from ODPEM (Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management) to start distributing water even while we turn on additional systems,” he said.
Minister Samuda indicated that several facilities will be prioritised for the trucking of water if regular supply is disrupted. These include hospitals, infirmaries, places of detention and places of safety.
“The steps we have taken for power supply, we believe, make us more resilient certainly than we were a year ago and we will continue to build on that resilience,” he said.
Minister Samuda said the NWC will close off intakes sometime tomorrow as the system begins to impact the island.
This, he said, is to reduce siltation in the reservoirs and major storage areas “so that we’re able to restart the systems as soon as our energy supply turns on, either the temporary energy supply or JPS (Jamaica Public Service Company).”
“This is a serious storm, but we are working with our international partners, certainly through the National Hurricane Center, which coordinates [with] the Met Service to give you the information that you need. We can confirm that we’re working with all of our local partners also to make sure that we’re able to respond to the need for urgent water supply immediately after the storm,” Minister Samuda said.
Jamaica is under a hurricane warning as Hurricane Melissa inches closer to the island. The system is expected to make landfall as a category four hurricane.