PM urges residents in hazardous areas to help build resilience against weather events

 

As Jamaica braces for what is expected to be an active hurricane season, Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness is appealing to residents in high hazard zones to actively work with the government to build resilience against weather events. 

 

His appeal comes as the government has previously faced opposition from dwellers in hazardous areas following evacuation orders related to serious threats of flooding and landslides. 

 

In light of this, Dr. Holness is calling for residents in areas prone to landslides and flooding to cooperate during relocation exercises.

 

"The thought will come to mind, oh, the government is trying to move me or displace. I think we need to move away from that because that's absolutely not what the government is trying to do. The government is trying to make you safe. Because the truth is, the government can't relocate everyone all at once. We simply don't have a capacity," the Prime Minister admitted while urging residents in "extremely dangerous positions" not to resist calls for them to relocate. 

 

"Maybe you need to start to approach your parish council or your Member of Parliament to say, can we start a process to either help build my resilience, improve the strength and structure of my home or see how we can be relocated?" Dr. Holness suggested. 

 

He was speaking Wednesday morning at a meeting of the National Disaster Risk Management Council. 

 

The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1 and will run until November 30. 

 

It is expected to be more active than usual, with between 13 and 19 named storms. Of those, six to ten hurricanes are predicted, with three to five of them forecast to be Category 3 or higher.

 

The weather systems are expected to hit later in the season.

 

However, recent events, including Hurricane Beryl, which was the earliest developed Category 5 system, hit sections of the Caribbean in early July last year.