KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Government will rebuild and restore damaged police stations to withstand category-five hurricanes as part of its Accelerated Infrastructure Restoration (AIR) Plan, following the unprecedented impact of Hurricane Melissa on October 28.

In an interview with JIS News, Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security and Peace, Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, said the restoration programme is being guided by a strong focus on resilience, after what she described as a once-in-a-century weather event.

“This was a ‘one in 100 years’ storm that we saw with Melissa, a category five. This was a storm that we’ve never seen before, something that Jamaica has never witnessed before. And so, we have to make sure that we are building back stronger,” the state minister said.

According to the minister, all stations undergoing restoration will incorporate upgraded structural standards designed to withstand extreme weather conditions.

“All of the stations we’re going to be looking at, as part of the restoration process, we have to look at enhanced roofing standards. We have to look at flood barriers, and we have to make sure that we have hurricane-rated windows and doors to withstand a category five,” she said.

Cuthbert-Flynn noted that Hurricane Melissa generated winds exceeding 157 miles per hour, requiring a reassessment of building specifications for critical national infrastructure.

“We have to make sure that anything that we’re going to do, anything that the JCF is going to do, we’ll have to make sure that the windows, the doors, the roofs can withstand maximum winds of maybe 157 [miles per hour] or at least lessen the damage.

“There are six police stations being referenced, including Amity Hall, Cave Valley, Bull Bay and Savanna-la-Mar, and these designs, they are far advanced in the design phase,” Cuthbert-Flynn said.

“We do not yet have any active construction going on for those that I just mentioned. The designs, of course, will be submitted to the municipal corporations in the upcoming quarter, and we believe that building approvals will follow all of the submissions,” she explained.

The state minister also pointed to smaller construction projects being undertaken under the Rebuild, Overhaul and Construct (ROC) programme.

“These can reasonably be expected for another maybe 24-month construction period,” she said.

Additionally, she noted that work on the Granville (St James) and Mocho (Clarendon) police stations will require extensive effort.

“The remaining priority stations, of course, are Granville and Mocho, and due to the challenges encountered, these are not so far advanced as the others,”  she said.

— JIS