Cadets from Seaforth and Morant Bay high schools in St. Thomas, assist residents to climb ladders to get to the other side of the Danvers Pen bridge yesterday. A section of the bridge was washed away by the Negro River during the passage of Hurricane Dennis last Thursday. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
THE GOVERNMENT will soon develop an education policy for the forced removal of persons living in disaster-prone areas, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson announced yesterday.
Mr. Patterson, who was making a statement in the House of Representatives, in the aftermath of Hurricane Dennis, said that the legislation will force persons to remove from disaster zones to decrease loss and displacement.
"We are going to need to develop an education policy that has teeth and that will allow the forced removal of persons from selected areas where disasters are threatened," he said.
He pointed out this was nothing new as Cuba and Florida had already implemented such policy.
"Time and time again, you hear people say that they are not moving and when the disaster has passed they are still alive, it confirms the belief that they will forever be spared," he said.
But the Prime Minister stressed that there are some places that are "so prone to flooding that if a natural disaster were to affect those particular areas, there must be the power to compel those citizens to remove until the danger is over and we have to bring that law to Parliament."
LOCAL RESOURCES
Mr. Patterson also announced that local resources would be used to finance post-Hurricane Dennis recovery efforts.
"We have taken the decision to respond to this disaster by utilising local resources to the maximum extent, but it is clear that a dedicated fund is going to be required for mitigation and disaster response," he said.
The Prime Minister said that at the Cabinet meeting on Monday, each ministry was authorised to start emergency work with the present available funds.
"The Ministry of Finance led by the Minister (Dr. Omar Davies) will commence, before the end of this week, a meeting of the relevant ministries so that a submission is ready for the consideration of Cabinet next Monday," Patterson said.
"...(This) will become necessary for us to consider when the first supplementary estimates are presented to Parliament," he added.
DOMESTIC FOOD SUPPLY
He said that despite the damage, local domestic food supply is not likely to be affected by the hurricane's impact.
The Prime Minister noted that the bread-basket areas, which provide much of the domestic food supply were not adversely affected.
Mr. Patterson said that a preliminary cost of the impact of the disaster was being co-ordinated by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and should be ready at the end of this week. He added that a comprehensive report would be ready by the end of the month.
Early indications showed that the main damage was done to the road infrastructure with 83 roads reported to being blocked, 42 by debris and 41 by flooding.
Some 40 per cent of the banana industry in Portland, St. Thomas and parts of St. Mary suffered damage. The coffee industry also suffered from landslides and fallen trees.
