KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) says it has observed a gap in disaster preparedness and risk management, as emphasis has constantly been placed on individuals and communities but insufficient emphasis placed on the risk faced by private organisations in Jamaica.

In an effort to fill the gap, the PSOJ said that it has converted the third staging of the President’s Forum for 2018, into a mini-seminar under the theme, “Disaster Risk Management for Business Continuity”.

The panelists represent government disaster agency, the international sector as well as business entities, the PSOJ said in a release today.

According to the PSOJ, they will share insights on disaster management in an effort to encourage others to be prepared.

The President’s Forum will be held on May 29, 2018, at 7:45 am at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel and President of the PSOJ, Howard Mitchell is encouraging business enterprises to support the forum, as very useful information will be shared.

Last year hurricanes swept through the Atlantic, causing unprecedented damage across the Caribbean and scientists studying past and future weather patterns have warned that hurricane conditions could get worse, the PSOJ cautioned.

The hurricane season of 2017 was estimated at $215 billion in losses, which were also claimed from the US coast to the Caribbean, making last year’s hurricane season one of the costliest, according to Bloomberg.

Presenters at the PSOJ forum will include: Major Clive Davis, Director General of ODPEM; Jack Yuja, Chargé-d’Affaires High Commission of Canada; Julian Rojas, Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) Regional Manager GB Energy; and Major Andre Sterling, Logistics and Customer Service Director at J Wray and Nephew.