Opposition Leader Mark Golding is calling for immediate relief support for residents in Westmoreland severely affected by Hurricane Melissa.

“It is obviously a critical time now, four days after the storm. The people need water. They need food and so on,” Golding told Observer Online during an interview on Friday.

Golding, along with Member of Parliament for Westmoreland Eastern Dr Dayton Campbell, and Member of Parliament for Westmoreland Western Ian Hayles, did an aerial tour of the parish.

“We flew over some terrible devastation. The area of White House is totally devastated going right back to Black River. The people are here, they are happy to see us. They are glad we are here,” he said.

Golding called for a quick response from the government in mobilising relief support for residents.

“They need help, the government needs to get relief in as quickly as possible. We want to be in tune with it because we want to ensure everybody feels confident that they are being looked after fairly and if the Prime Minister will allow us to play that role we are happy to play that role,” Golding added.

He stressed that while the support is being mobilised from the international community, he called for the process to be done in a transparent way.

“We are in touch with people abroad who want to help. Jamaica is getting an outpouring of support and love due to the goodwill that we command internationally. We just need to translate that to actual help on the ground. The bureaucracy needs to be moved aside but the processes must be done in a way that is transparent and a mechanism needs to be put in place to ensure that this is done,” he said.

The Opposition Leader also called for greater climate resilience during the rebuilding phase.