Mark Titus, Enterprise Reporter

This man, baby in hand, jumps across a body of water along a section of the Bannister Main Road, St Catherine. The water has restricted access to some sections of the community. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer.

Despite the devastating effect of previous disasters, including loss of lives and costly damage to the nation's infrastructure, disaster preparedness is yet to be approached with the seriousness that it deserves.

In The Gleaner's recent series 'Flood prone Jamaica' it was revealed that even some of the more vulnerable parishes continued to take a nonchalant approach to preparation.

While the passage of Tropical Storm Gustav dealt severe blows to Portland, St Thomas, Kingston and St Andrew, it was a narrow escape for St Ann and the municipality of Portmore.

St Ann

St Ann is considered the most vulnerable parish, with more than 60 communities identified as being prone to flooding. Districts, such as Moneague, Cave Valley, Pedro River, as well as well as Ocho Rios were said to be unable to withstand the rigours of a natural disaster.

In April, overnight showers lashed sections of the parish, creating piles of mud and crippling commercial activity in Ocho Rios.

The showers also affected several surrounding communities, leaving more than 50 households to battle flood waters. However, authorities are today breathing a sigh of relief as the cruise ship capital was spared the wrath of Tropical Storm Gustav.

In the meantime, the farming village of Cave Valley had to be evacuated on Friday night as rising waters threatened residents' safety.

By the following day, the water had receded. According to disaster coordinator, Alvin Clarke, this was due to a community effort to clean all the sink holes in the neighbourhood.

The farming district of Pedro River, which is located in the hills of the parish, has always been plagued by rising waters during the rainy season.

But a flood response programme implemented in collaboration with the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management and the parish disaster committee passed its first test during the passage of the storm as there was no flooding in the area.

Portmore

Mayor of Portmore, Keith Hinds has given the municipality a passing grade in its preparation and response to Tropical Storm Gustav.

But now, he is expressing concern about the safety of the water being consumed by residents and is urging them to boil water before use.

Hinds said a lot of work will be required for the Sunshine City to be ready for a major disaster as the drains throughout the 66 communities should be made of concrete.

"I will continue to press for the necessary financial support from the powers that be."

He stated, "Concreting these waterways would save us millions of dollars that is spent bushing them."

According to Hinds, all emergency shelters were officially closed by Saturday morning, while disaster operations at the council have also ended.

Residents look at a section of the Bog Walk gorge which was damaged by flood waters during Gustav. - Norman Grindley/Acting Photography Editor

( From left) Digicel's head of facilities and emergency management, Donovan Betancourt, and Digicel Jamaica CEO Mark Lineman hand over relief supplies to Ronald Jackson, director general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM). The supplies, including blankets, tarpaulins, toiletries, food and clothing, will be distributed to shelters, as well as those persons who have been most severely affected by Tropical Storm Gustav. The presentation was made at ODPEM's head office on Camp Road, St Andrew, last Saturday. - Contributed