KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) – Local Government and Community Development Minister, Desmond McKenzie, is imploring persons living in at-risk communities to comply with mandatory evacuation orders issued during the 2016 hurricane season.

He warned that “those who resist will face the full force of the law.”

“Whenever the warning is given, I don’t believe anybody should tell us they are not going to move. The law should take its course,” he said.

The minister was speaking at the launch of Disaster Preparedness Month 2016 by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) yesterday, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.

He said that as the Government strives for growth and prosperity no longer will people be allowed to live or build in non-designated areas.

Minister McKenzie said that the message of compliance must be taken into the vulnerable communities and called on the church, social groups and influential persons to begin to “change the mindset of citizens to do the right thing and save the country’s valuable resources.”

Disaster Preparedness Month is being observed under the theme: ‘Plan, Strategise, Prioritise: Disaster Impacts Can Be Minimised’.

The launch also marks the start of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs until November.