25 communities still marooned after Hurricane Melissa

 

A week after Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica, Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles Jr. on Monday reported that there are still 25 marooned communities. 

 

The communities are located in the parishes of Westmoreland, St. Elizabeth, St. James, Trelawny, and one in Hanover.

 

"We're utilising our Bell 429 helicopters, we're also using the Chinook helicopters brought in and Black Hawk helicopters brought in by our partners in the US. And those are assisting us to provide a lifeline to the several Jamaicans that remain stranded through the evacuation process as well as the packages that are dropped off from the skies while we are on the ground and we have teams on the ground simultaneously providing ground support. So our JDF team is not only doing airlift, but where we can't go, they go," the minister said in an update at Monday's press briefing at Jamaica House.

 

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles Jr., confirmed that over 30,000 food packages have so far been successfully distributed to households across Jamaica in response to Hurricane Melissa. 

 

The minister has reaffirmed his ministry's commitment to protecting the nation's most vulnerable, ensuring that every Jamaican, regardless of circumstance, receives the support he or she needs. 

 

To date, 22,156 packages were distributed directly by the ministry, while private sector and partner contributions accounted for an additional 8,500 packages.