SEAMAN’S VALLEY, Portland — Prime Minister Andrew Holness has stressed that care will have to be taken to ensure that weather-related disasters do not derail the country’s economic development.

His comments came in eastern Portland on Thursday as he gave the assurance that emergency funds would be made available to repair roads damaged by recent heavy rain.

“The rain is wreaking havoc on their infrastructure,” he said even as he sheltered from showers under an umbrella. “What we are seeing is increasing weather variability in Jamaica. It could be climate change as well as it could be natural changes in the weather cycle. Whatever it is, the Government has to be fiscally prepared — meaning, it has to set aside, within our budget, emergency funds to address these issues.”

December is not typically a month in which Jamaica is lashed by heavy rainfall that creates substantial damage. And, as Holness noted, the need to identify funds for unexpected road repairs has also come at a time when his Administration is close to the end of the fiscal year.

“There will be some provisions that we will have to make to ensure that the dislocation caused by these weather events do not affect our economic output. We are having sustained economic growth — [though] not at the level we would want — we are having economic growth, and we should protect it. The infrastructure is important in protecting that growth,” the prime minister said during a stop at Seaman’s Valley.

“We are in a banana plantation and if the road isn’t good enough then we won’t be able to move the crop, and if we don’t control the rivers and streams nearby then they will flood out the entire plantation and have an impact on our agricultural output,” he added.

He promised that help is on the way.

“We will make the necessary interventions to support the various industries in this area that are affected by the various weather events and to ensure that the farmers and commuting public are able to move with relative ease,” Holness said.

According to National Works Agency’s Communication and Customer Services Manager Stephen Shaw, the flooding at Seaman’s Valley resulted from an overflowing stream. He said funds have already been allocated to clean drains in the community. He is hoping there will be more resources available soon.

“There is actually a contract in place, as we speak, for $9 million to do the cleaning in this space. We had requested $20 million. We have gotten $9 million and hope to get the other $11 million soon so we can move to treat with this entire stretch in terms of the drains. [It is] something that we have done before and we know we have to continue to maintain the drains here. As you see [from] the gauges that are here, it is a low-lying area that lends itself to flooding, but there are things we can do, and have done, and will be doing to mitigate the incidents of flooding in this space,” Shaw added.

The prime minister noted that while the goal is to be responsive, they will need to be strategic in addressing unexpected events such as the December rains and subsequent damage to infrastructure.

“The Government does make allocations. Our budget is not at the level where we can deal with everything but we are able to address some. Yes, we have some funds that we have set aside [and] in the new budget we will have a little more… There will probably be more,”” he hinted.

Along with Holness, Shaw and technocrats from the NWA, Thursday’s tour was joined by Member of Parliament for Portland Eastern Ann-Marie Vaz.

Areas visited included Shot Over, Berrydale, and Tom’s Hope.