Prime Minister Holness Assures Clarendon Flood Victims of Government’s Assistance

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has assured the residents of communities in Central Clarendon, who were affected by flood rains in April, that the Government will be assisting with their recovery.

He gave this assurance during a tour of sections of the constituency on Friday, May 5.

Mr. Holness told JIS News that the administration has commenced disaster assessments and evaluations of the resulting damage and dislocation to determine the extent of response to be provided.

This, he said, was being done through several Ministries and State agencies. These include: the Ministries of Local Government and Community Development, and Labour and Social Security; and the Social Development Commission.

Mr. Holness also gave a personal undertaking to assist the children of the affected families with school supplies, among other provisions, while expressing concern about the extent to which their lives may have been disrupted.

“I am always very concerned about the impact weather events will have on children and their attendance at school. So I always want to find out how students are recovering,” he said.

Against this background, the Prime Minister advised that Transport and Mining Minister and Member of Parliament, Hon. Mike Henry, had established a bank account to help the affected students.

Among the communities Mr. Holness visited were Bucknor, Bucks Avenue, Juno Crescent and Woodside.

The Clarendon Municipal Corporation estimates that approximately 5,000 residents were affected by the torrential flood rains which lashed the parish over two days.

Article by: Chad Bryan
Photo from: www.jis.gov.jm