Jamaica should invest in laying underground wires

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I am writing with reference to the damage caused by the recent passage of Hurricane Beryl. In my opinion, it is time Jamaica considers or initiates discussions about putting most of its electricity cables underground. This should include having electricity, data, and perhaps water run underground, and have built-in maintenance access. Perhaps some of the existing poles could be used to mount cells to generate solar electricity. When on a recent Eastern Caribbean cruise, I learnt that either the Dominican Republic or one-half of Sint Maarten put their electricity cables underground after Hurricane Gilbert mash up de place. Now, rather than taking over six months to restore electricity after a hurricane, it now takes less than six days.

It’s great that Jamaica has such good natural disaster plans. But it should also invest in buildings (especially now, more high-rise buildings are being built) and infrastructure that mitigate the negative effects of natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes.

As someone who is part of the Jamaican diaspora living in England, I might not fully appreciate how hard things are in Jamaica now.

It may be deemed too expensive, but in the long run it should prove cost-effective and life-saving. Also, the amount of work it will provide should increase the island’s technical capacity, sustainable development and human security.

KARL ‘ARAY’ MILLER

London, UK