Spanish Town mayor urges reform of Jamaica's building codes

By Nakinskie Robinson 

 

  

After Hurricane Melissa tore through several communities, Chairman of the St. Catherine Municipal Corporation, Norman Scott, says the country has reached a moment of reckoning, urging swift reforms to Jamaica's building codes and construction approval systems.

 

He argues that meaningful change is needed to prevent the widespread devastation, seen during the storm, from happening again.

 

Mr. Scott says that as the nation begins rebuilding homes damaged by the hurricane, authorities must take a strategic approach, including strict enforcement of construction standards and the use of materials capable of withstanding Category 5 hurricane-force winds.

 

"Some of these parishes that have been so devastated, in their planning process, we may have to look at some kind of different ways of rebuilding some of these houses, with a view of withstanding this kind of wind speed which came from Melissa. It is going to be very important that the municipal teams with central government look carefully because in October it was the western part of the island [but] we don't know when another one will come in another section of the country. So, futuristic, we definitely have to have a team comprising the local authorities to set the tone in order for the kind of recovery that is going to be sustainable," he reasoned. 

 

Additionally, Mr. Scott suggested the apartment building model used in some areas in Kingston and St. Andrew, be adopted across vulnerable communities in Western Jamaica. 

 

"Down in Westmoreland where you have several wood structures, you may have to now build development like what we see in Payne Avenue, Denham Town, Tivoli Gardens, in order to create communities. So instead of having several small rooms, one rooms, you may have to do that...with a view also of preparing for future disaster," he proposed.