St. Elizabeth Parish Disaster Preparedness Committee Gets Ready for Hurricane

The Parish Disaster Preparedness Committee for St. Elizabeth met on Monday (July 1) to discuss and finalise preparations for the impending passage of Hurricane Beryl, which is forecasted to impact Jamaica on Wednesday, July 3.

Mayor of Black River and St. Elizabeth Municipal Corporation Chairman, Councillor Richard Solomon, conducted the meeting at the entity’s office in the town.

He told JIS News that the parish is well prepared for Hurricane Beryl and other potential disasters.

Councillor Solomon informed that all 87 shelters across St. Elizabeth are ready to accommodate residents who may need to evacuate their homes.

Additionally, shelter managers have been deployed and equipped with the necessary resources to ensure the smooth operation of these facilities, he added.

“We are also going to be posting all the shelters on our social media pages for persons to be able to identify with them. We will be posting information out there. This includes all the relevant contact information in terms of the Superintendent of Police, Jamaica Fire Brigade and others,” the Mayor outlined.

The parish has established an emergency line – 876-965-2740 – for residents to report any storm-related incidents or concerns.

Councillor Solomon pledged that the Committee will respond promptly to these reports as the situations evolve.

Meanwhile, the authorities are urging residents in flood-prone areas to consider relocating if necessary.

Councillor Solomon encouraged persons to exercise “sound judgement”, especially in situations where immediate assistance from authorities may be delayed due to severe weather conditions.

“Currently, we are doing some fine tuning. So we are going to be doing a little tour of the Emergency Operations Centre to make sure that we have everything in place. The Centre is located at the Black River Fire Station. If we have a full-scale disaster, then we will expand to the Municipal Corporation,” he indicated.

The meeting’s participants included representatives from key agencies, such as the St. Elizabeth Infirmary, Jamaica Constabulary Force, Jamaica Fire Brigade, Jamaica Public Service, National Water Commission, Social Development Commission, and St. Elizabeth Health Department.

The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season is forecasted to be above average, with 17 to 25 named storms expected.