KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is reporting that it has received more than $1.4 billion in donations since the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

Up to March 31, more than 17,000 people have donated to the recovery efforts after Hurricane Melissa, which impacted the country on October 28 last year.

Director General of ODPEM, Commander Alvin Gayle, made the disclosure during a post-Cabinet press briefing held at Jamaica House on April 15.

The ODPEM utilises an online merchant platform integrated within the Support Jamaica portal to facilitate online donation collections. Donations are also received directly to the ODPEM’s Jamaican dollar and United States (US) dollar local bank accounts.

Commander Gayle noted that of the funds donated, approximately 80 per cent was received via direct bank transfer.

He said the donor base reflects a diverse mix of stakeholders, including local, regional, and international groups, individuals, and companies, governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

“Total amounts received and the US equivalent converted, we are speaking of $1,478,269,567 as net into the donation accounts held and managed by the ODPEM. To date, a portion of those funds collected has been approved for spend in supporting the government-led repair programme under the Shelter Recovery Programme and also to procure construction equipment to support emergency resilience activities as agreed to and requested by one donor,” Commander Gayle said.

He informed that some $146 million has been spent on the government-led roof repair programme, which has been augmented by $400 million of donated roofing materials from partners.

Additionally, some $7.2 million has also been spent from other funds to support logistics matters surrounding the programme.

“To date, under the government-led repair programme, some 410 roofs have been repaired with additional roofs scheduled for repair. Consequently, it is expected that the programme spend will increase over the coming weeks. Beneficiaries for this programme… have been verified through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, based on vulnerabilities,” Commander Gayle stated.

Additionally, $320 million from the donated funds has been committed for the procurement of construction equipment to support emergency resilience activities.

“This investment is not only a response to the current recovery efforts of Hurricane Melissa but also a strategic enhancement of Jamaica’s national disaster preparedness and resilience framework going forward,” he said.

The director general informed that the balance of the funds will be utilised across various projects, including the rapid deployable modular housing project, as required.

—     JIS