Social workers in St Catherine are currently assessing persons at shelters, who were severely affected by the heavy rains associated with Tropical Storm Gustav.

Some 60 officers from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Poor Relief Department and the Red Cross, are conducting the assessment, which began on August 31.

Parish disaster co-ordinator at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Patricia Lewis, said that the assessment was being done to determine the level of assistance that the affected persons need.

"They are having dialogue with them to see how best they can assist them to return to their homes or find alternative accommodation," she said, adding that the workers would also find out the extent and type of damage suffered.

According to Lewis, more than 30 persons are staying at the Faith Prayer House and God Bless Basic School in Beacon Hill. The persons, mainly from the Tredegar Park community, were flooded out by water from the Rio Cobre river. She pointed out that other persons were returning to their homes.
During Tropical Storm Gustav, some 752 persons went to 21 shelters in the parish.

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