JAMAICANS SHOULD brace for 12 to 15 tropical storms and over a dozen hurricanes this year, Mrs. Sylvia McGill, Director of the Meteorological Services, predicted during the launch on Tuesday of Disaster Preparedness Month. According to Mrs. McGill, two of the hurricanes will be formed in the Caribbean, hence Jamaicans need to prepare well.
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is holding its fort in terms of preparation, but this does not mean that the public should be flippant. Dr. Barbara Carby, Director of ODPEM, stressed that the nation's preparedness was in the hands of every Jamaican.
"There is need for the forging of partnerships for the management of hazards such as floods, hurricanes, landslides and man made events," she said.
According to Dr. Carby, individuals should make use of forecasting tools, detailed planning and the pre-positioning of resources to better prepare for any eventuality or emergency situation.
Elaborating on ODPEM operations and its ability to respond to disasters at present, she said that once the incident occurred which required intervention at the national level, the ODPEM would be in a position to access funds based on the pattern of past events.
Emergency shelter kits for adults and children were also a special feature at Tuesday's launch. Senior Director of Preparedness and Emergency Operations, Ronald Jackson, said that the kits were to provide personal comfort items to affected persons in designated shelters. The bags in which these items were stored are multi-purposed and could be used to store other items. The shelter kits for children, he noted, were "age cohort sensitive". Responding to queries about the number of shelters on record, Mr. Jackson said that there are about 900 acceptably designated shelters.
