KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — The National Works Agency (NWA) is clearing roads and completing assessments following extensive damage to the infrastructure in several parishes as a result of the recent heavy rainfall.

The rainfall rendered many roads impassable, restricting access to several communities across the island.Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NWA, EG Hunter, said the focus is now on clearing roads to gain access to places most in need of repairs.“Very little reconstruction will be done in the next couple of days. Simultaneously with the clearance of the roads, we will be doing an assessment,” Hunter noted.“There has to be a process of prioritisation, because given our fiscal position, one has to be very smart and very intelligent in terms of how we choose what we work on and when. So, I think the Government is going to require some understanding and some patience, because given the enormity of what we have seen, it is not going to be a cheap exercise,” he said.The CEO was part of a team, led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, which toured some of the worst affected areas on Wednesday.Among the communities visited were Sunnyside in Linstead, St Catherine; Douglas Castle, St Ann; and Cave Valley, located on the border of St Ann and Clarendon.Jamaica experienced persistent heavy rainfall from May 13 to May 15. The parishes of Kingston and St Andrew, St Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, St Elizabeth, St Mary, Portland, and St Ann have been severely impacted.The Prime Minister, who was in the Dominican Republic on an official visit, cut short his visit and returned to the island on May 16 to tour the affected communities.