WHILE Kingston was spared the worst of Hurricane Melissa which slammed into the south-western end of the island with winds of 185 miles per hour, Mayor Andrew Swaby is still concerned about the dislocation facing residents of the capital city.

Downed power lines, fallen trees and blocked roads greeted Swaby and a team from the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) as they toured sections of the Corporate Area on Thursday.

Swaby later reported one particularly worrying legacy of Melissa.

“We started downtown [Kingston] where we went to the waterfront area and we have seen that sections of the seawall capping have been compromised,” said Swaby during at media briefing at the KSAMC’s Church Street offices.

The seawall capping is a protective layer made of concrete which secures its components and deflects waves to prevent erosion and structural damage. Further damage to the capping could increase the chance of flooding in the communities close to Kingston’s waterfront during another weather system.

According to Swaby, in addition to the tour, the KSAMC started a clean-up campaign in the parade area of downtown Kingston in collaboration with other State agencies.

He said the KSAMC team also toured sections of St Andrew West Rural where they saw land slippages, blocked roads, fallen trees, and fallen utility wires.

“I must commend members of the various communities. We have noticed where they have teamed up, rolled up their sleeves and are making sure that they bring back their communities to normalcy. They have been cutting the fallen trees into smaller pieces and also clearing the roads,” said Swaby.

The mayor told the media briefing that he will be calling a meeting of the Parish Disaster Committee next week, where all the councillors will be invited to report on the impact of Melissa in their divisions.

“After that we will make sure that we look at the entire report and we will chart a course of action. It is important to note that we will also partner with the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development in trying to restore our city to normalcy,” added Swaby as he expressed condolences to residents in sections of the island which were hard hit by Melissa.

Swaby also commended the shelter managers who were deployed across the Corporate Area as the island braced for Melissa, and pointed out that one shelter manager’s house was extensively damaged while she was serving during the passage of Melissa.

In the meantime, KSAMC Parish Disaster Coordinator Terry Forester told the media briefing that approximately 65 shelters were open across the Corporate Area during Melissa with some 950 people housed in them.

According to Forester, some people have since returned home while up to Thursday some remained in shelters while damage assessment is being done.

“We have two phases of damage assessment which is initial damage assessment and our more detailed damage assessment. Our damage assessment teams are out. We started today [Thursday] and will continue until we reach everyone,” said Forrester.

On Wednesday, Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie underscored that all designated hurricane shelters will remain open for as long as they are needed to facilitate persons affected by the passage of Melissa.

Addressing a media briefing at the National Emergency Operations Centre in New Kingston, McKenzie said close to 15,000 Jamaicans were accommodated in shelters across the island during Melissa.

“It is safe to say that our shelters have seen increased numbers. We also notice there are communities where residents have created makeshift shelters [and], in most cases, we were able to get limited supplies to those persons within those shelters,” said McKenzie.

He declared that no shelter is to be closed to the public unless instructions are officially given.

“No shelters can be closed unless those instructions come from myself as the minister or from ODPEM [Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management] …once the shelters are designated by law as shelters then the responsibility of the shelters is vested in the municipal cooperation and ODPEM,” added McKenzie.

He promised that all shelters, including schools — some which could reopen for face-to-face classes as early as next week — will be returned to the condition in which they were received once their designation as a hurricane shelter is lifted.

A section of the damaged seawall capping on the Kingston waterfront in downtown Kingston on Thursday. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)

A section of the seawall capping on the Kingston waterfront which was compromised by Hurricane Melissa. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)