Dozens holed up in Manchester shelters
MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Mayor of Mandeville Brenda Ramsay said 107 residents, including 22 street people, were in shelters across the parish yesterday as the country braced for the effects of Hurricane Matthew.
She said that more than 70 shelters had been activated.
While there has been intermittent rain and some wind, Ramsay said that there have been no major challenges in the parish related to the impending hurricane.
She said some residents have decided to seek accommodation in shelters because of leaking roofs in their homes.
In the seaside community of Alligator Pond in southern Manchester, which is one of the vulnerable communities in the parish, Ramsay said residents decided not to relocate from their homes, despite appeals.
She said that an emergency operating centre with representative of agencies and volunteers has been active at the Manchester Parish Council since Thursday evening and is set to keep going until it is no longer necessary to have it in place.
Ramsay said that so far she believes that her team has achieved a satisfactory level of preparedness.
“I think we have everything under control and we have been managing,” she told the
Jamaica Observer.
The Mandeville mayor, however, advised that the council was not able assist people seeking assistance for mattresses.
“We got 20. These have been sent to two shelters — Kendal (Primary) and Mandeville (Primary and Junior High),” she said.
Ramsay said that the two schools were the first shelters to be occupied.
— Alicia Sutherland