KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Authorities has formally begun decommissioning hurricane shelters throughout the island, shifting to relocate the practically 1,300 Jamaicans who stay in 97 energetic services weeks after Hurricane Melissa’s devastating strike.
With most shelters working inside faculties, officers say the transition is pressing because the training system prepares for reopening in January. Social staff and evaluation groups from a number of ministries have been deployed to judge every family and create relocation plans tailor-made to particular person wants.
Authorities are pushing to maneuver the vast majority of occupants into safer long-term choices. The method is being dealt with in phases, with emphasis on making certain dignity, stability, and ample assist for affected households.
The Authorities can be revisiting its method to nationwide shelter infrastructure, acknowledging the necessity for purpose-built services able to withstanding future disasters.
Hurricane Melissa left behind large destruction, damaging practically 156,000 properties — together with 24,000 whole losses — and impacting near 900,000 Jamaicans. The Class 5 monster storm induced an estimated US$8 billion in bodily injury, marking one in every of Jamaica’s most expensive pure disasters in historical past.
