KINGSTON, Jamaica— The National Works Agency (NWA) and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) are undertaking a flood alert improvement project for Clarendon while the country is in the midst of the Atlantic hurricane season.

This project, which will focus on Aenon Town and the Alley Bridge in Clarendon, was announced by Director, Major Projects at the NWA, Richard McHargh, at the July 7 Disaster Preparedness Town Hall, held in Rocky Point, Clarendon, one of a series being conducted islandwide by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.

“The NWA is presently partnering with the ODPEM in implementing what we call the Flood Alert Systems Improvement Project in Clarendon. The purpose of the project is to improve the flood alert system to protect life and property,” McHargh said.

Noting that the parish of Clarendon is particularly susceptible to natural disasters with the threat of landslides in the northern section of the parish and sea-level rises in the south, the project seeks to mitigate flooding.

The project outputs are the installation and replacement of flood warning signs at both locations; the installation and repair of flood gauges at both locations; and the installation of a flood traffic control gate at the Alley Bridge.

“The Alley Bridge will be outfitted with a real-time monitoring system so that we can be warned ahead of time as to imminent danger. You may be familiar with the [gate] that is in the [Bog Walk] Gorge; the gate is closed when there is a threat of the river rising to a dangerous level. We will seek, working along with ODPEM, to have a similar control gate established at the Alley Bridge,” McHargh noted.

The NWA embarked on a disaster mitigation programme prior to the start of the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season and has started its extensive drain-cleaning exercise, which targets critical drains along the main road network.