KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Government has allocated a total of $172 million to be spent in the 63 constituencies to undertake mitigation works ahead of what Minister with responsibility for Works, Robert Morgan, has noted will be an active hurricane season which gets underway on June 1.

“Based on what we went through with [Hurricane] Beryl last July, we are not taking any chances this year. We are preparing early and acting fast,” Morgan said Tuesday in a statement in the House of Representatives.

At the same time, $300 million has been allocated to carry out essential work on the Sandy Gully in Kingston and St Andrew.

“We’re putting $100 million into the north and south gullies in Montego Bay, and in St Catherine, we’re allocating $30 million for works in the Bog Walk Gorge. Another $30 million is going towards drainage improvements along the Dyke Road,” Morgan said.

And, he said, an additional $200 million is set aside for mitigation works along the south coast, which has seen repeated flooding and damage in recent years.

“This is not business as usual. These are targeted interventions in areas where we know the risks are high,” Morgan said.