Mayor of Kingston says shelters across the corporate area ready
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Mayor of Kingston, Delroy Williams says emergency shelters across the municipality are ready for the passage of Tropical Storm Ian.
Speaking with OBSERVER ONLINE, Williams said a meeting was held with all major disaster preparedness agencies as well as the National Water Commission and the Jamaica Public Service to ensure the island is prepared for any eventuality as Jamaica braces for the storm’s impact.
“Our shelters across the municipality are ready, our shelter managers are trained and aware of protocols. They are ready and prepared. We have prepositioned equipment in areas such as Red Hills, Stony Hills, in the Bull Bay area, the Gordon Town area and have made arrangements with different equipment operators for other areas,” he said. “The city engineering department has been checking drains and so far we are satisfied that the drain network is clean and cleared.”
Mayor Williams said this year, the capital is in a better position than it was last hurricane season, especially in light of work done to prevent overflowing of several rivers in the corporate area.
“Generally this is something that we do when we are facing a major storm or hurricane. So we had that meeting and what was very clear is that we are in a better position now than last season in terms of the Chalky River, the Bull Pen River and the Cane river in Eight Mile,” he said. “We did extensive work at the Duhaney River earlier this year and we believe it will go a far way in terms of mitigating flooding in the general New Haven area especially along Riverside Drive. We are hoping and praying that there is no major flooding but we have done the work.”
The mayor also used the opportunity to urge individuals to evacuate their homes if the need arises. He expressed that once there is a threat to life, rational decisions must be made.
“It is basic to protect life and so my advice is that once life is threatened, you should seek to protect it and if that means going to a shelter or evacuating from a particular area then I would say you have a responsibility to do so.”
