LOCAL Government Minister Desmond McKenzie has placed residents living in flood-prone and otherwise vulnerable communities on notice that an order for their evacuation is imminent.

This as Hurricane Melissa is expected to crash into Jamaica sometime between Monday and Tuesday, bringing heavy winds and bucketloads of water with it. Projections are that the slow-moving system will linger over the island for several days.

High on the minister’s priority list is Port Royal — the old seafaring town once dubbed the “wickedest city on Earth”— where residents, over the years, have steadfastly refused to evacuate, even when facing potentially life-threatening weather systems.

“While engaging with some Jamaicans, their argument was that we are a God-blessed country, we are gifted, and the system will pass.

“Well the Bible also reminds us that God helps those who help themselves,” McKenzie said during a special Jamaica House media briefing on Saturday.

Port Royal was cut off in September 2004 when the passage of Hurricane Ivan impacted the island, dumping loads of sand onto the road leading to both the Norman Manley International Airport and the town. While Ivan caused significant damage and resulted in 17 deaths, it stayed off Jamaica’s southern coast. Melissa, which strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane Saturday, is expected to make a direct hit across central Jamaica, moving from south to north, with parishes along the south-eastern coast expected to bear the brunt of the impact.

McKenzie told the press briefing that he’d written to Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, on the advice of acting Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) Richard Thompson, which resulted in Holness declaring Jamaica a “threatened area” last Friday.

The declaration is based on the provisions of the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA).

“There is another request that I will be putting in writing to the prime minister for his consideration, that based on the extent of the system, there are vulnerable communities in Jamaica, that it is advisable that persons do not remain in these communities during the passage of the hurricane,” said McKenzie.

He warned that provisions are made for such an order — compulsory evacuation — in the DRMA.

“[We are talking about] places like Rocky Point in Clarendon, Taylor Land in Bull Bay, New Haven and Riverton City [in St Andrew], and many other communities that will be affected where lives will be threatened,” the minister noted.

“I will, therefore, be writing to the prime minister, based on the direction of the acting director general of ODPEM, that we take those steps to advise those communities of the intent to declare this order,” he added.

The minister also issued as appeal to residents in these areas.

“I want to make an appeal to persons who are living in these communities — Port Royal is one such community that is of concern — that you can start to make arrangements to move and go and spend time with relatives and friends, it is in your interest that this is done,” McKenzie said.

Continuing, he warned: “It isn’t going to be possible when the event [hurricane] comes, after all the effort that we would have made, to say to our first responders go to point A and point B, to put their lives at risk when persons refused to move…

“And I want to urge Jamaicans, do not take this for granted,” McKenzie added.

He shared that the residents of three infirmaries in St Ann, Hanover and Trelawny have already been relocated to safer accommodations.

“And we’re presently removing the homeless population from the streets and placing them in shelters right across the country,” he said.

The portfolio minister assured that the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development and ODPEM are in a position to provide relief supplies where necessary. He also said that a team from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency arrived in Jamaica two days prior “and is helping us in our communication system, and is here to give support to the team on the ground”.

Said McKenzie: “The Government is doing all it can, within its power, but the greater effort has to come from the people themselves, and I want to use my presentation…to urge Jamaicans to take this seriously. Do not gamble with Melissa, it’s not a safe bet.”

Meanwhile, the prime minister made it clear that “the entire Jamaica will be impacted by Melissa.

“The outer bands seem to be very wide and it is already affecting the Dominican Republic and Haiti with significant rainfall; we should expect the same,” said Holness, while addressing the media briefing.

He urged Jamaicans to brace for significant rainfall and wind, as well as a prolonged event. The prime minister also implored Jamaicans to ensure they have adequate food and water and some form of lighting “as it is highly likely that the electricity will go — either pre-emptively or a result of the storm itself”.

Additionally, he urged households to keep documents safe, including identification, such as passports and land titles.

Holness said the distribution of benefits post-disaster will require some form of identification because of the accountability issues involved. He also urged Jamaicans to talk to their children and to keep them calm and safe throughout the storm.

The prime minister acknowledged that as the country prepares for the storm some people are unable to do so because they don’t have the means.

“We have tasked the Ministry of Social Security to start to preposition supplies, but in reality we would not be able to get supplies to everyone who is genuinely in need of the supplies,” he said.

Holness said the Government will engage churches, Members of Parliament, councillors, and some first responders to assist with distributing supplies.

Prime Minister explaining at Saturday’s special news conference at Jamaica House that the Ministry of Social Security has been instructed to start prepositioning supplies for individuals who are unable to do so because they don’t have the means. However, he cautioned that in reality the State would not be able to get supplies to everyone who is genuinely in need. (Photos: Naphtali Junior)