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Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Office of National Reconstruction (ONR), Danville Walker, has disclosed that the ONR was currently conducting an assessment exercise to ascertain the extent of the damage caused by Hurricane Dennis on July 7. While on a tour of Manchioneal, Portland on July 8, Mr. Walker told JIS News that he had already observed significant road...

A comprehensive assessment is being made of the damage caused by Hurricane Dennis in Portland, by the Emergency Operations Centre in the parish, to ensure that recovery measures are implemented as quickly and effectively as possible. Deputy Mayor of Port Antonio, Councillor Rupert Kelly said the Centre was working closely with a number of agencies and organizations in the parish...

Prime Minister P. J. Patterson has said that he had received commitments of assistance from regional and international governments, should the island suffer extensive damage from Hurricane Dennis. "We already have expressions not only of solidarity, but a willingness to make assistance available, should it be necessary, from all the CARICOM governments. The chairman of (CARICOM) conference expressed the support...

Over 400 persons are now staying at shelters in St. Thomas after rising waters from the torrential rains associated with Hurricane Dennis, drove them from their homes. Omar Afflick, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) Regional Coordinator, told JIS News that hundreds of residents in communities in Seaforth and Yallahs and other sections of the parish had to...

Preliminary investigations reveal that the island's infrastructure was relatively unscathed by the passage of Hurricane Dennis, which lashed the island yesterday (July 7). In an interview with JIS News, Dr. Barbara Carby, Director-General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) revealed that torrential rains drenched the island, and for the most part flooding was the major problem....

Approximately 523 persons who sought accommodation in 13 shelters in Clarendon, because of the threat posed by Hurricane Ivan yesterday (July 7), are being supplied with food items through the initiative of the Clarendon Welfare Sub-committee. "Since about 9:30 this morning, representatives from the Welfare Sub-committee have been in the field responding to persons with food items. We have targeted...

More than 250 persons are now occupying emergency shelters in the parishes of St. James, Hanover and Westmoreland, some as a precautionary measure, while others are as a direct result of flooding caused by the passage of Hurricane Dennis yesterday (July 6). Although not receiving a direct hit from the hurricane, several low lying areas within the western parishes were...

Heavy winds and torrential rains associated with Hurricane Dennis battered Portland yesterday (June 7) leaving damage to agriculture, housing and infrastructure in a number of communities. Among the worst hit communities are Mill Bank in the Rio Grande Valley area and St. Margaret's Bay in Western Portland. Reports are that a number of houses in Mill Bank have been badly...

Senior Director of Social Security in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Faith Innerarity said the government was moving to pass legislation governing its Social Safety Net programme by the end of the current legislative year. She was speaking at a press conference held on July 5 at the Grenada Way offices of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ),...

Dear Prime MinisterThe Government and people of Jamaica were shocked to learn of the horrific series of bomb blasts that have shaken parts of central London and have caused deaths and untold casualties. These attacks have clearly been undertaken as part of a coordinated campaign of terror. The individuals or group(s) responsible must be found and brought to justice. On...

Some 650 persons are now being housed in 19 shelters as the island prepares for the impact of Hurricane Dennis. Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) Dr. Barbara Carby, speaking to journalists at her South Camp Road offices this morning, explained that most of those seeking shelter lived in flood prone areas and the...

Minister of Local Government, Community Development and Sport, Portia Simpson Miller has given the assurance that the government and all its agencies and departments were on full alert for Hurricane Dennis, which is expected to begin affecting the island by midnight. Addressing a press briefing on Hurricane Dennis at Jamaica House this evening, Mrs. Simpson Miller, who has been in...