Sun | Oct 19, 2025

Jamaicans urged not to be caught off guard as hurricane season looms

Published:Thursday | May 29, 2025 | 12:11 AM
Desmond McKenzie, minister of local government and community development.
Desmond McKenzie, minister of local government and community development.

With the National Disaster Fund now valued at more than J$550 million, Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie has indicated that Jamaica is now in a better position to respond to the effects of natural disasters.

In his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament yesterday, McKenzie noted that in the event of a severe hurricane or earthquake, Jamaica’s access to the Contingent Credit Claim with the Inter-American Development Bank remains in place. This allows a drawdown of up to US$285 million.

He reminded the country that Jamaica remained a member of the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, which allows access to resources for disaster recovery, linked to the severity of the event.

As the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1, McKenzie said 17 named storms have been predicted and nine of them will become hurricanes.

Of the nine predicted hurricanes, four of them are likely to have strengths ranging from Category 3 to Category 5.

He noted that this year’s prediction is slightly below the 18 named storms, and 11 hurricanes that actually occurred last year.

“However, we cannot relax our guard. I am asking all elected representatives to take all the necessary steps to secure the interests of the people in our constituencies and divisions,” he said.

While the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management will be charged to intensify its public education activities, McKenzie appealed to Jamaicans to embrace preparedness.

“I ask that you gradually put things in place, so that you are not caught off guard if a storm comes. At the same time, I am urging everyone to remember that we live in an earthquake zone, and we have to be constantly aware that January 1 to December 31 of every year is earthquake season,” he added.

Commenting on the work of the Social Development Commission (SDC) in driving social transformation at the community level, McKenzie said the agency’s entrepreneurship programme will be expanded this year, to train and certify 150,000 new entrepreneurs.

He said the SDC is realising its potential as the key connection point between macroeconomic growth and the expansion of the micro-economy.

editorial@gleanerjm.com