Montego Bay, July 26, 2019 – Jamaica – Disaster Coordinator for St. James, Tamoy Sinclair, says the plastic ban should minimize the impact of flooding in Montego Bay.
Ms. Sinclair was addressing a Jamaica
Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’, which was held at the St. James
Municipal Corporation in Montego Bay on Thursday (July 25).
“Montego Bay is prone to flooding,
primarily because of plastic waste in our drains. So, the elimination of
plastic itself or reducing the quantities going in the drains will
significantly transform the impact of these flood occurrences in the city,” Ms.
Sinclair said.
The plastic ban, which was imposed by
the Government on January 1, 2019, covers the importation, manufacture,
distribution and use of the plastic materials.
The bags banned are those commonly referred to as ‘scandal bags’ and
others with dimensions of 24 inches by 24 inches or less.
Meanwhile, Miss Sinclair highlighted
that approximately $23 million has been allocated for disaster preparedness in
the parish of St. James for the 2019/2020 fiscal year.
“In addition to that, under the new
Building Act, one per cent of building fees will now be directed to disaster
management activities (in the parish),” she told JIS News.
She added that of the sum allocated,
divisions across the parish were allocated $700,000 each, to do advance
cleaning of critical drains in those areas.
Drain-cleaning exercises took place
across the parish in May prior to the start of the hurricane season, and are
also slated to be done in September, which is the peak of the season.
Ms. Sinclair also noted that as part of
the disaster preparations, 63 shelters across the parish where found to be in
good condition after being inspected by the St. James Fire Department, the
Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Roads and Works Department and Disaster Management
Department of the Municipality.
“The shelters are up to date; they are
fine. However, there were some shelters
that were not deemed suitable and so alternatives were selected,” she said.
Ms. Sinclair noted that the resources
for the emergency shelters are provided by the Ministry of Labour and Social
Security, the Jamaica Red Cross, Food For the Poor as well as the Salvation
Army.
Contact: Serena Grant
Release: JIS
Photo Caption: Disaster Coordinator for St. James, Tamoy Sinclair, addresses a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ that was held at the St. James Municipal Corporation in Montego Bay on Thursday (July 25).
A. Nembhard photo