KINGSTON, Jamaica — More than 881 shelters are on standby across Jamaica to accommodate persons during and after the passage of Tropical Storm Melissa.

Acting Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Richard Thompson, made the disclosure while giving an update at a special press briefing on preparations for Tropical Storm Melissa at the Office of the Prime Minister on Friday (Oct. 24).

He informed that a shelter in St Thomas has already opened to accommodate an elderly man, who turned up at the facility.

He said that special attention is being given to critical parishes that are expected to be more affected by the storm based on its projected path, and there may be need for  evacuations.

These parishes are St Mary, Portland, St Thomas, Kingston and St Andrew, St Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, St Elizabeth, Westmoreland and Hanover.

“Within our evacuation protocols transportation is critical. We have been having meetings with the transportation cell of the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) and we have stated what we will be doing in terms of transportation if we have to do evacuations,” Thompson said.

He noted that focus is being placed on areas within these critical parishes that tend to experience high levels of flooding during heavy rainfall.

Among these are Shooters Hill, Weaves Road in Bull Bay, sections of Cane River, and Eleven Miles in Kingston and St Andrew; Grant’s Pen in Yallahs and Audley Crossing in St Thomas; and Portland Cottage and Rocky Point in Clarendon.

–        JIS