Flooding in Montego Bay on Wednesday
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Prime Minister Andrew Holness
Less than a day after Montego Bay, St. James was hit by major flooding, the Government of Jamaica has announced that $20 million will be allocated to clean the city.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who toured the area Thursday morning along with Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie and Mayor of Montego Bay Homer Davis, announced that half of the money will come from the Emergency Fund and the other $10 million from the Equalisation Fund.
The Prime Minister said further allocations from the budget will have to be made to assist with the recovery effort.
"Recently, Parliament announced that there would be a programme of patching. We will now have to divert from this and take a second look at the Supplementary Estimates that we intended to table in Parliament next week because this will call for some additional funding," said Mr. Holness.
The Prime Minister also indicated that the Ministry of Social Security will provide additional assistance to residents and property owners in the clean-up exercise.
He was speaking at a news conference in Montego Bay, St. James on Thursday afternoon.
Remain closed
Meanwhile, business places in downtown Montego Bay that were flooded on Wednesday are being advised to remain closed until the premises have been inspected by the St. James Public Health Department.
The St. James Municipal Corporation issued the advisory Thursday afternoon.
In addition, it said persons should not consume products that have been discarded by food establishments or contaminated during Wednesday's flood.
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