KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) is urging farmers across the island to prepare themselves and their farms for the passing of Tropical Storm Melissa.

As of Tuesday, October 21 at 2:00 pm, a Meteorological Service of Jamaica Bulletin indicated that a Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for the island, with Tropical Storm Melissa moving over the Caribbean Sea, south of Hispaniola at that time.

Senior Plant Health and Food Safety Officer with RADA, Francine Webb, said this means that tropical storm conditions could pose a possible threat to Jamaica within the next 48 hours.

“What we are anticipating is heavy rainfall, with anywhere between one and three inches, with rains continuing into the weekend and possibly gusty winds. The concern here is not just that we are to anticipate at the very least increased rainfall, but the context is that we have been getting rains for a couple of weeks and so the soil is already saturated or near that saturation point and so the possibility for flooding is going to be greater and will happen in a shorter space of time,” she said.

Webb also said securing life and property should be at the top of the priority list, especially for farmers at this time.

“Activities such as checking their roofs and windows, moving their valuables and documents to [a more secure area], making sure that their family has clean food and water, batteries, flashlights, medication for at least three days, phones are charged and they’re staying tuned to the Met service and also to the RADA advisories, [should be done],” she said.

“The preparation that you make at home is what you want to mimic now for your farming enterprise. In a similar fashion, we want to remind farmers that they take every sense of precaution as they would to protect their family and their home,” she said.

Before the storm, Webb said focus should be on keeping drains and trenches cleared.

“The expected increase in rainfall [plus the already] saturated soils mean that fields will be flooded quickly, and so you want to make sure that excess water runs freely through the field, so that it doesn’t stay and settle. Make sure that your drains and the trenches are clear and we have time enough to clear those…so that water can flow freely,” she said.

“Remove any debris, any tools or anything that can block this flow of water because we want to reduce any possibility of flooding or minimise it at the very least,” Webb added.

Farmers are also being advised to trim large overhanging trees that can cause damage during the storm.

For further assistance and additional information, persons can visit the nearest RADA office in their parish or call 876-977-1158.

— JIS