Jamaica: Last minute preparations to sustain Beryl

The Hurricane Beryl has although weaken slightly, but still it remains to be a powerful Category 4 storm and is currently barreled towards Jamaica. Addressing the situation the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness declared Jamaica as a disaster area for the next seven days, keeping in view the impact, strength and potential threats posed by the tropical storm.

On Wednesday, July 3, an island-wide curfew will be in effect for the period of 6 am to 6 pm, stated the Prime Minister. He said that this decision was taken to ensure the safety of every citizen as the catastrophe hit the island and also to prevent any attempt to carry out criminal activities during the crisis.

PM Holness also added that an evacuation order might also be in effect for the areas that are flood and landslide prone and for the areas in and around the gullies or waterways. He urged all the Jamaicans to abide by the evacuation plan if and when brought into effect. The residents in the low-lying flood prone areas, and those who reside on the riverbanks or gullies are advised to evacuate and move to shelters or any safe ground, even if the order is not issued.

He further highlighted that the Ministry responsible for commerce of the state will pass an order to make sure that there is no illegal price gouging of essential goods and commodities during the period of disaster.

The Meteorological Service of Jamaica has put forward the fact that the Hurricane Beryl has downgraded from Category 5 to a category 4 storm but still pushing forth with a speed of 155 mph. The Meteorological Service has stated that the storm is expected to further weaken as it heads towards Jamaica.

The Ministry of Transport has also made arrangements with the toll operators all around the island to give free access to the toll roads from 6pm till midnight on Tuesday, July 2. This was done to ensure that all the people who are currently on the roads can reach home safely as early as possible without any inconvenience.

The Prime Minister said that the people can access the details about all the orders in line, once it is gazetted and published on various government websites and all over the media.

Although the hurricane has slightly lost the intensity, but the catastrophic phenomenon is still expected to be strong enough to make destructive impacts and landfalls in the southern parts of Jamaica on Wednesday, July 3, 2024.