CLARENDON:
OPPOSITION LEADER Edward Seaga has blamed the severe flooding in Clarendon last week on incompetence and unpreparedness of the relevant authorities in making adequate preparation for the rains.
Mr. Seaga, who was on a tour of the flood-ravaged areas of Clarendon last Wednesday, told The Gleaner that "it is painfully obvious that the emergency authorities are unprepared."
He said "drains and gullies and other types of channels that take away water are all clogged up and water is spilling over and that is what is causing the large settlement of water especially on the plains."
He said the need existed for those infrastructures to be cleaned on a regular basis in order to prevent such natural disasters from occurring.
However, Mr. Seaga noted that adequate funds were not being made available to agencies such as the Office of Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Management (ODPEM) to carry out such functions and as a result they could not effectively deal with the situation in the event of a disaster. "They don't have sufficient resources to assist. They've neither been given enough money nor do they have enough mattresses nor do they have enough food," Mr. Seaga said.
Mr. Seaga, along with Audley Shaw, Deputy Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), toured Osbourne Store, Toll Gate, Scotts Pass, Milk River, Kellits and surrounding areas that were affected by the flood.
