TRELAWNY, Jamaica — As Hurricane Melissa inches closer to the island,  Councillor Garth Wilkinson (People’s National Party, Falmouth Division) is voicing concerns over the safety of individuals who may be housed at the shelter at Salt Marsh Primary School, noting that the facility sits across a gully prone to flooding during periods of heavy rainfall.

The shelter at Salt Marsh is one of 42 designated across Trelawny, supported by a team of 68 shelter managers.

“Salt Marsh Primary is one of the shelters that we have, but it’s actually across a gully. So, in case of any flooding, you would have to evacuate the residents who seek shelter at the facility. I have some issues with it,” Wilkinson expressed.

“I don’t know how we can mitigate against anything that will happen there,” he added.

The councillor noted that during an emergency disaster meeting on Wednesday, Mayor of Falmouth, Councillor C Junior Gager, urged councillors to use their August allocations from the Trelawny Municipal Corporation to assist with the cleaning of drains across the parish.

Wilkinson said that work to clear drains in Falmouth began shortly after and continued up to late Sunday afternoon.

“Falmouth is known as a flood-prone area- Falmouth, Zion, those areas. We have places like Wakefield and those areas, but Falmouth especially is below sea level, and we have to do all that we can to mitigate against flooding,” Wilkinson said.

— Horace Hines