One-Minute Reads: News from across Jamaica

Emergency support for persons with disabilities

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has activated an emergency response network to support persons with disabilities following the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

The assistance is being channelled through the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD), which has received more than 110 calls from individuals requiring evacuation, food, shelter, and welfare checks. In a release on Monday, the ministry advised that teams have responded swiftly, working alongside the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, the police, and parish coordinators to relocate and support affected persons with disabilities in parishes such as Clarendon, St Elizabeth, and Westmoreland.

In addition, the JCPD conducted on-site assessments in Litiz, St Elizabeth, where food packages were delivered to 30 clients, including a group of nine deaf persons in Junction, St Elizabeth. The ministry said it continues to deploy food, mattresses, and welfare assistance to shelters and remote areas through close coordination with the Jamaica Defence Force Air Wing and other partners.

Affected municipal corporations receiving assistance

Municipal corporations that were not affected by the recent passage of Hurricane Melissa have been mobilised to assist those whose operations have been severely disrupted.

This was stated by Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, during a special media briefing at Jamaica House on Monday. He indicated that a team from the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation has already moved into St Elizabeth.

"We are moving teams from Portmore, St Catherine, St Thomas, and other communities to cover areas in western Jamaica that have been severely affected by the passage of the hurricane," he added. He further indicated that arrangements are being made to relocate the affected municipal corporations, noting that a location has been found in St Elizabeth.

"One of the challenges we face also is that a number of staff in these municipalities have their own personal issues, so they cannot participate in the recovery exercise," he said.

Telecoms companies restoring service

Telecommunications companies Digicel and Flow are working to reinstate service in parishes most severely impacted by Hurricane Melissa.

Providing an update during Monday's press briefing at Jamaica House, Telecommunications Minister, Daryl Vaz, said that over the next two days, Digicel will be focused on restoring service "from Falmouth to Montego Bay, then Montego Bay to Negril".

"Work is also ongoing in Portmore, Spanish Town and St Thomas," he said. Vaz informed that Digicel has restored service to customers in Santa Cruz, Spur Tree, Falmouth, Bevin and Rose Hall.

"Digicel has restored 46 per cent of its mobile sites, with 86 per cent of fixed networks, and 75 per cent of business connections now back online," he said. Turning to Flow, Vaz reported that approximately 64 of the company's fixed sites are operational, with 40 per cent of customers now reconnected, mainly in the urban areas where power has been restored. He said that work continues to bring service back to the more affected western and southern parishes.

For mobile networks, 37 per cent of sites are up, reaching about 78 per cent of mobile customers.

Firearm seized in police operation

Lawmen assigned to the St Andrew North Police Division seized a firearm and several rounds of ammunition during an operation in Burnside Valley in Red Hills, on Monday.

Reports from the Constant Spring police are that at 2:55 p.m., a police team executed a search warrant at a premises. During the search, one Glock pistol with a magazine affixed containing three 9mm rounds of ammunition was found. One man was taken into custody in relation to the seizure. His identity is being withheld as the investigation continues.