Gager urges residents to learn from Hurricane Dorian’s impact on The Bahamas
FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Chairman of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC) Councillor C Junior Gager says the devastation of The Bahamas from the passage of Hurricane Dorian should serve as a wake-up call for persons who ignore hurricane warnings.
The recent passage of the powerful hurricane in The Bahamas left at least 50 people dead and destroyed hundreds of homes. Damage as a result of the category 5 hurricane was estimated at US$7 billion.
“When we consider what happened in The Bahamas, it only gives us an opportunity to prepare ourselves because we will not be lucky every year. One year it will strike us. We will have to learn from the mistakes that were made in Bahamas to make sure that we are properly equipped,” Gager, who is also Falmouth’s mayor, argued.
He was speaking recently during the Jamaica National (JN) Foundation’s handing over of equipment, including two chainsaws, at the Trelawny Municipal Corporation building for the parish’s disaster preparedness storeroom.
Onyka Scott Barrett, general manager of JN Foundation, said there was no hesitation to grant the municipal corporation’s request for the equipment.
“We didn’t have to hesitate because at the end of the day we are seeing the results and effects of the things happening in our climate. And right now our counterparts in Bahamas, they are living it, and I don’t know if you are seeing the videos and pictures going around, it is horrific,” Scott Barrett said.
Andrew Harrison, chief executive officer of the TMC, expressed gratitude to the JN Foundation.
“When the invitation (for equipment) was made to several entities, JN Foundation was the first to have responded to us. It therefore means that they did not even hesitate, and what we see here we know that it will not be only fully appreciated, but also fully utilised,” Harrison noted.
Gager, who also expressed his gratitude, promised that the items will be cared for.
“We have been discussing chainsaws and we didn’t have the money to purchase any, and today I can see not one, but two, all genuine stuff, and I want to assure you that we will take care of them,” Gager committed.
