1,000 Jamaicans still in shelters

Over 1,000 Jamaicans remain in shelters almost six weeks after the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

The Category 5 storm, which slammed into Jamaica on October 28, making landfall on the western belt, left much of the housing stock in tatters as it ripped off roofing and toppled houses, even as floodwaters poured into dwelling places, resulting in residents having to flee for their lives.

Since the monster storm, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), which was overhauled by the Government and placed under the Office of the Prime Minister, has been pressed to keep abreast of critical statistics.

Several shelters have already reverted to regular use as residents made alternative arrangements, but among the questions raised during last week’s sitting of the Public Administration and Appropriation Committee (PAAC) was for continuous updates on the number of residents still being housed.

ODPEM Director General Commander Alvin Gayle revealed that, as expected, Westmoreland, where the hurricane made landfall, has the largest number of residents in shelters.

“As at today, some 101 emergency shelters remain active currently across seven parishes with 1,061 individuals being housed in those parishes. The parishes of St Catherine and Clarendon have no person in occupancy. [In] Manchester, there is one shelter with two occupants; St Elizabeth, 23 shelters, 191 persons housed. Westmoreland continues to be leading the pack in terms of number of shelters and number of persons within shelters, so we currently have in Westmoreland some 32 shelters open with just about 522 persons being housed in shelters. St James is the next largest holding, with some 26 shelters activated and just about 135 persons in shelters. Trelawny is the only other parish with over a 100 persons within shelters, i.e., seven shelters and 121 occupants.”

With schools among the buildings being used as shelters, and administrators and the education ministry desperate for resumption, Gayle told the PAAC the agency was working through the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development to assess the immediate shelter and other requirements to have persons relocated from the shelters.

He said ODPEM has issued more than 40,000 emergency housing items, inclusive of tarpaulins, shelter repair kits, plastic sheets, tents, cots and blankets from its stores and was optimistic about issuing construction material early in the new year.

“The procurement process for that is under way as we transition to the early recovery phase. What I will also indicate is that the ODPEM has received into its warehouse some 27,000 board measures of lumber and some ‘twenty hundred’ sheets of zinc from the Republic of Guyana. Now, this is pertinent to the repair work being undertaken by the Guyanese Defence Force Corp of Engineers, who are working with the Jamaica Defence Force team out in Westmoreland.”

He noted that assessments are continuing, which will drive the distribution of grants and vouchers, and determine which houses get repaired.

The director general also revealed that ODPEM has spent some $80 million on food and $50 million on haulage, which is set to increase once international funding is reduced.

karen.madden@gleanerjm.com