As the threat of tropical weather systems loom over the Atlantic, some of the nearly 1,200 modular homes in the country will be on standby to be deployed as emergency shelters should disaster strike.
Scores of people remain displaced months after Category 5 Hurricane Melissa ripped through western Jamaica on October 28, last year.
The government has invested more than US$29 million to secure a total of 2,500 units for the initial emergency phase. While 1,200 of that amount is already in the island, the remainder is scheduled to arrive shortly.
Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Ambassador Rocky Meade, said the government remains flexible as the process continues to have the housing solutions deployed to those who suffered near or total destruction of their homes during Hurricane Melissa.
“There’s a collaboration between MEGID (Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development) and NHT (National Housing Trust) and so on to actually do the construction of the bases and deploy them. I don’t have a precise figure as the how many has been handed over. But there are 1,200 in-country of a projected 2,500 in the first instance. We are remaining flexible, Chair, that if we need to bring more then so be it. We are also planning to use some of these for shelter solutions if necessary, being conscious that we are now in a new hurricane season,” he disclosed.
Ambassador Meade was speaking Wednesday at the meeting of the Public Accounts Committee.