KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) has been reassigned to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to strengthen logistical collaboration with the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) post-Hurricane Melissa.

The reassignment is effective immediately.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness made the announcement on Tuesday during a ministerial statement in the House of Representatives.

He explained that ODPEM is the central agency of the Government’s disaster response.

“They work with all the critical agencies across government, the private sector, international aid agencies, and multiple governments. It is, however, clear that the response to Hurricane Melissa will require significant logistics experience,” he said.

The prime minister also noted that the JDF is currently assisting with the logistics support to both ODPEM and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, especially given the fact that many communities are situated in difficult terrain and several have been marooned.

“Given the nature of the response needed for the current relief effort and the coming reconstruction efforts, it is important that ODPEM and the JDF have even greater levels of collaboration,” the prime minister said.

He stated that, “This realignment establishes virtually a single point for emergency logistics and further tightens coordination with relief partners. This is about speed.”

He offered that the new arrangement will accelerate the distribution of relief supplies in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, better serve the most affected communities and restore normalcy as quickly as possible.