Devon Evans, St. Ann
AS HURRICANE Dennis battered the north coast of the island yesterday, evacuation orders were issued for residents of Pagee in Port Maria , St. Mary. Meantime, the Annotto Bay fire station was relocated from the town to the Gray's Inn Sports Complex just outside the town.
Port Maria's Mayor, Bobby Montaque, said the fire station was located too close to the sea and "will be easily flooded if the tide rises". He said the fire service is very important in times of disaster, hence the decision to relocate the fire station's operations to a safer location.
More than 100 families were housed in shelters across St. Ann, while a similar number were being housed in shelters in St. Mary.
Shelters now in operation in St. Ann include the Parry Town Primary School where there are 65 persons. Persons were also being sheltered at the Old Folly Community Centre in Discovery Bay, the St. Ann's Bay Primary School and the Breadnut Hill Primary School.
Thirty-five persons from Pagee have taken up shelter at the Port Maria Primary School while there are other persons at the Orange Hill Primary, St. Mary High School and the Annotto Bay High School.
APPEAL
Disaster preparedness officials in St. Mary deployed a town crier in the Annotto Bay area yesterday afternoon appealing to residents in low-lying areas to move to safer ground.
Emergency operation centres were activated in both St. Ann and St. Mary on Wednesday night. The emergency centre in St. Ann is located in the parish council's chambers in St. Ann's Bay while the St. Mary emergency centre has its headquarters in the parish council's offices in Port Maria.
