ROSE HALL, St James — Mayor of Montego Bay Richard Vernon wants to see shelters better equipped before natural disasters occur.

“In the future, I believe that all shelters should be properly equipped with back-up power supply, either solar or generators, not to get it after the fact,” he told the Jamaica Observer on the sidelines of Wednesday’s handover of items donated to the Mayor’s Fund.

Rabbi Yaakov Raskin handed over the items on behalf of the western city’s Jewish community.

“This is a grand opportunity for us to learn from [Hurricane] Melissa, in equipping our shelters properly with power supply, Internet connection, auxiliary communication system, so we can know what is happening in the shelters in times of disaster,” Vernon said.

Following last October’s passage of the Category 5 storm, large swathes of St James — including some shelters — were left without electricity.

The Emergency Operations Centre had to wait for days, in some cases, to get updates about conditions in some of the parish’s shelters. According to Vernon, a new response model that is being developed should make things easier in the future.

“When we are at the command centre at the [St James Municipal] Corporation, we don’t know at times what is happening at the shelter. You don’t know if someone is ill, persons are incapacitated; you have to wait days, in some instances,” he said.

“Therefore, if you have a back-up power supply and Internet, it would be better. Leading up to the hurricane, we would try to make shelters get a generator and a Starlink. That’s a part of what we are looking at in terms of building our response,” the mayor declared.

With communication lines up and running, he said, the local authority would have real-time updates and a clear picture of what the needs are on the ground.

Two generators were among the items handed over Wednesday morning. The mayor indicated that they would be assigned to shelters, one of which is in Montego Bay.

“Each year, we have to prepare. We have over 60 registered shelters across the municipality of St James. Some of them are community shelters, some of them are schools. Having a generator and access to a generator, especially in the time of disaster, is critical,” he said.

“The Montego Bay Boys’ and Girls’ Club, this time in particular, [we have] to ensure that they have access to a generator. Not only do these centres use the generators on a regular day to offset the costs associated with electricity but [they] also use it when needed for shelter purposes,” explained Vernon.

The other generator donated Wednesday is expected to be assigned to a shelter in John’s Hall, in south St James. The mayor explained that last year a generator, also donated by the Jewish community, was put in use at the Mount Salem Community Centre.

“On behalf of the city of Montego Bay, I want to thank Rabbi Raskin and the Jewish community for their kind donations. They have been responding ever since the hurricane,” he said.

Other items handed over included medical supplies, food items, clothing, and building supplies. The mayor said the building supplies, which include tiles, would come in handy for projects on which the corporation has embarked.

“We are actually rebuilding two homes for persons with disabilities and this will help with the flooring,” he said.

“I note that we have diapers; that will help some of the parents in the communities who are at a significant disadvantage especially at this time. Many of them work in the hospitality sector, they’re unemployed and we want to see how best we can bridge some of those gaps that they have at home,” the mayor added.

Rabbi Raskin shared that the donated items were mainly supplied by donors overseas who saw the need.

“Thanks to them, we are able to show you part of what’s left of our third 40-foot container. This container contains medical supplies for the hospitals, sanitisation and medical gowns, diapers, masks. We even have over-the-counter medicine for those who need,” he said.

“We have clothes for different sizes, for adults and for children. We have generators, we have canned food, special crackers that stay throughout all seasons; they have a long shelf life,” he added.

Rabbi Raskin said a fourth container is being prepared.

“We are continuing in the long run. We know so many people need help,” he said, adding that it was an honour to help care for those in need.

He also thanked Half Moon which has been storing the items as they are delivered.

Rabbi Yaakov Raskin shows off some of the items donated to the Mayor’s Fund, Wednesday, by Montego Bay’s Jewish community. At right is the city’s mayor Richard Vernon. 

Two generators were among items donated to the St James Municipal Corporation on behalf of the Jewish community. The items were handed over, Wednesday, to mayor of Montego Bay Richard Vernon (right) by Rabbi Yaakov Raskin.