FALMOUTH, Trelawny – Chairman of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation C Junior Gager says all shelters have been identified throughout the parish as part of preparations for the hurricane season, which runs from June to November 30.

“The parish of Trelawny is in preparation for the season, preparatory work is far advanced. We have already identified all of our shelters to house persons who may seek refuge during hurricanes which result in any flooding. Everything is in place through our coordinator who has organised all of them. Everything is up and ready. All the shelter managers are in place,” Gager noted last week.

Gager, who is also mayor of Falmouth, added that in a bid to maintain social distancing as part of the COVID-19 protocols, larger spaces have been targeted to facilitate the shelters.

“We looked mainly at school rooms, church halls with big spaces. So for example, where we would always occupy the auditorium of a school, we have now looked at other classrooms because we will have to practice social distancing. So we looked at bigger spaces where people can be comfortable and the shelter managers are well-trained to know that social distancing must be observed,” he underscored.

Last month, the municipal corporation undertook a $20-million project, which involved the dredging and cleaning of Falmouth’s ‘drag line’— a massive earth drain that runs across sections of town to the sea — in a bid to mitigate the impact of flooding during the upcoming rainy season.

“On the ground we have been looking at our drain cleaning as you can see the drag line in Falmouth has been cleaned and water is flowing from both ends. So that will take care of the flooding within the town of Falmouth. We have also paid attention to our drain cleaning and each councillor from the nine divisions has been allocated special funding and they have already started some of the drain cleaning “ he said.

“And of course, we are working with our Members of Parliament, National Works Agency… to ensure some of the main drains are cleaned and in order and can accommodate heavy flow of water.”

Gager added that the municipal corporation will also be embarking on a programme, aimed at removing bulky waste in the divisions.

“So all the old fridges, mattresses… we are arranging for trucks to come in so we are going to make sure that the bulky waste is out and the trucks come in and take them to the dump. We don’t want anything to be thrown in sinkholes again and block up the sinkholes so it can’t receive water,” Gager explained.

Speaking at the National Disaster Risk Management Council’s virtual meeting on Tuesday to mark the start of the hurricane season, director of the Meteorological Service Branch (Met Service), Evan Thompson, says the entity is ready and prepared to keep Jamaicans informed during the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, which is expected to be active.

Thompson noted that the forecast is for 13 to 20 tropical storms to develop, of which six to 10 could become hurricanes, with three to five developing into major hurricanes of category three, four or five.