St. James Municipal Corporation Prepared for Hurricane Season – Mayor

As the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season begins, Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Richard Vernon, has assured residents of St. James that the Municipality is well prepared to face any challenges that may arise.

The hurricane season lasts from June 1 to November 30, and forecasters are suggesting that it could be a very active one.

Speaking at a press conference at the St. James Municipal Corporation on Thursday, May 30, Mayor Vernon expressed confidence in the City’s capacity to handle average storms or hurricanes.

“In terms of the overall readiness of the Municipality, we are ready to manage situations that may arise from average storms or hurricanes; however, if there are severe situations, we will need assistance from Central Government,” he said.

As part of the City’s preparation efforts, Zonal Committees are being established to provide timely updates and advice on priority issues within communities during a hurricane.

“We are building out the zonal committees across the Municipality that will advise the Municipality of the different situations that exist within the communities. That will help us to deal with our disaster mechanisms that are in place,” Mayor Vernon said.

He pointed out that the 58 shelters across the Municipality will be sufficient to support residents in the event of a natural disaster.

“The shelters that we have are adequate based on the trend of past experiences, and if needed, they will be able to provide support during a disaster,” the Mayor said.

He also addressed the state of the drains in the City and their capacity to contain flood waters in the event of a hurricane.

“The drains are in relatively good condition and should be able to carry the flood waters. There are enough [drains] to manage [flood waters] to a certain level in terms of capacity,” the Mayor said.

He pointed out that the concern is not in relation to the cleaning of drains where the City is concerned, but more so the development of the City over the years.

“A drainage study is being done in conjunction with the perimeter road, which will help us in the future to alleviate some of the challenges that we face with flooding at the lower end of Montego Bay, ” the Mayor said.