KINGSTON, Jamaica —Former Prime Minister PJ Patterson has called for Jamaica to “get real” about disaster management and to urgently build a more resilient nation in the face of increasingly frequent and severe climate-related events.

Patterson made the call recently while addressing a crisis management workshop held at S Hotel in New Kingston, organised by Infinity Trainers in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, which battered Jamaica on October 28.

Patterson, along with former Prime Minister Bruce Golding, served as patrons of the workshop.

The workshop brought together a wide cross-section of professionals from the public and private sectors, as well as civic society, to strengthen disaster recovery and preparedness strategies. Infinity Trainers is comprised of communications and marketing professionals Elaine Wint, Elaine Commissiong, and Jerome King-Johnson.

A long-standing climate justice advocate, Patterson warned against complacency and misguided narratives surrounding the increasing intensity of hurricanes.

“We have to prepare for these kinds of disasters to be increasingly recurring features of our life,” Patterson said. “Some people are talking about 31-year intervals between hurricanes and even attributing political coincidence. But let’s get real. Let’s get serious. Let’s dismiss all of that.”

He emphasised that Jamaica must move away from traditional rebuilding approaches and outdated standards that leave communities vulnerable.

“We cannot build back in the same way, in the same places, according to the same specifications, to withstand the shocks to which we have become accustomed,” he said, pointing to the dangers of constructing homes and infrastructure on hillsides, riverbanks, gullies, and coastal areas.

Patterson expressed deep concern that nearly two decades after he left office in 2006, Jamaica still does not have a modern national building code in force.

“When I left government, the new building code was ready for final approval. Here we are, 19 years later, and we still do not have a new national building code,” he noted. “We can’t be talking about 155-mile-per-hour winds anymore. We now have to design for 200-mile-per-hour gusts; what I call the new age of Melissa.”

He also underscored the need to enforce laws and regulations, including action against vandalism of public property and utilities, while ensuring public understanding of why such measures are critical to protecting lives and livelihoods.

Addressing the sensitive issue of relocation, Patterson reflected on past efforts to move communities from flood-prone areas, noting the cultural and emotional attachments that often complicate such initiatives. Nonetheless, he insisted that zoning regulations and no-build areas are unavoidable.

“We have to have zones where building is prohibited because of the danger and the likelihood of environmental damage. We have to build back, but we must build in a resilient fashion,” he said.

Rejecting claims that climate change is a hoax, Patterson said the scientific evidence is undeniable. “The oceans were unusually hot, and that provided the fuel to supercharge the storm (Hurricane Melissa),” he said. “This is not peculiar to the Caribbean. Look at what is happening in Asia: cyclones, flooding, devastation.”

While acknowledging the scale of Hurricane Melissa’s destruction, Patterson said Jamaica was still fortunate that Melissa did not cut across the entire island or strike at night, which could have resulted in far greater loss of life. He concluded by reminding participants that Jamaica’s disaster preparedness must extend beyond hurricanes.

“Jamaica is also on an earthquake fault line, the Enriquillo–Plantain Garden fault. We’re not only preparing for hurricanes; we must also prepare for earthquakes. The geologists are warning us. We don’t know when the big one will come, but we know it will.”

The crisis management workshop formed part of ongoing efforts to equip national stakeholders with the tools and strategies needed to respond more effectively to disasters and to support a safer, more resilient Jamaica.