ODPEM monitors at-risk areas

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) was last night conducting a "critical assessment" of the conditions in several parishes after three days of heavy rainfall over much of the island.

The biggest concern, director general of ODPEM, Ronald Jackson, cautioned is centred around the National Meteorological Service's (NMS) forecast of more rains over the next 24 hours.

"There is likely to have a cumulative effect come tomorrow (today) into Tuesday given the saturation levels," Jackson told The Gleaner yesterday.

He said the assessment, which would include the NMS, would discuss reports from all the affected areas to "get a sense as to whether we are near critical levels".

"It will also impact on some of the facilities we use as schools if conditions continue to deteriorate," he said, though making it clear that up to late yesterday, no shelter had been opened.

"We have been in touch with some of these communities (where flooding was reported) and we may have to move to evacuate some of them," Jackson cautioned.

According to the NMS, the area of low pressure responsible for the heavy showers across the island has remained almost stationary over the Caribbean Sea, south of Jamaica, in the past 12 hours.

The NMS said it was expected to linger across the region until tomorrow and will continue to influence the weather over the island.

no injury reports

ODPEM said there were no reports of injuries up to late yesterday, but revealed that residents in several St Thomas communities were marooned because of the rising waters levels of the Yallahs River.

Jackson said ODPEM and the Ministry of Labour and Social Security were monitoring the communities under threat.

"We are getting feedback as to the local conditions and we will use this to determine whether or not we have to move to early evacuation," he stressed.

The were also reports, ODPEM said, that rising water levels in the Duhaney River in St Andrew was threatening homes in the New Heaven area.

In addition, the police and ODPEM reported that several roads in St Thomas and Clarendon were impassable for hours after heavy overnight rains.

Jackson said teams from the National Works Agency were out helping to clear some of the roadways.