PM calls meeting of National Disaster Preparedness Committee
PRIME Minister Portia Simpson Miller has called a meeting of the National Disaster Preparedness Committee for Jamaica House today at 10.30 am.
The meeting comes less than a week after severe criticisms from the opposition for failure to convene a meeting prior to the June 1 start of the hurricane season.
At a press conference at the headquarters of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party last Friday, Mayor of Port Maria Robert Montague and spokesperson on local government, Shahine Robinson, said the government had not taken the necessary steps to ensure the country was prepared for the hurricane season which has been predicted to be very active.
Forecasters in the United Sates have said there will be nine hurricanes and 17 tropical storms in the Atlantic for the 2007 season. So far, there have been two named storms, Alvin and Barbara, but neither of them have caused serious damage.
The group of Opposition members at Friday’s press conference, which also included member of parliament Pearnel Charles, Spanish Town mayor Andrew Wheatley, mayor of Morant Bay Joan Spencer and caretaker for west Portland, Daryl Vaz, said their areas were not prepared for the hurricane season and blamed the government for not allocating enough money for drains to be cleaned.
“Some of the shelters are themselves in need of repairs. Emergency supplies are not in place and bridges and retaining walls are not in a position to mitigate any kind of disaster,” Montague said.
Last Friday, at a press conference in Kingston, the acting director general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Ronald Jackson, said that the agency was ready for the hurricane season.
“We face significant challenges, but regardless of these challenges the ODPEM and its partner agencies will nonetheless be ready to spring into action if we are impacted,” Jackson said.
