KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is well aligned to provide assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa which is projected to make landfall in Jamaica between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

The assurance was given by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness on Monday, during a special media briefing at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management.

The JDF’s DART team is often called on to provide aid during disasters, including relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts, often working with other government agencies. It played a pivotal role in Jamaica’s recovery following Hurricane Beryl which impacted the country in July 2024.

“The JDF is on full alert, they have put in place their necessary protocols, they have a system where they have specialised teams for disaster response, they call it the DART,” Holness said.

He added that, “Those teams are already stood up, directives have been given that the entire JDF is now the DART so their engineering core, their various regiments and so forth — everybody will be used for the national good if we have a strike on our country through this category five hurricane that could cause significant dislocation.

“We are as prepared as we can be, of course there’s still room for improvement,” he said.