A TROPICAL STORM WARNING is still in effect for Jamaica as Tomas continues slowly toward the north the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) has received the following updates:

Communities Affected

Reports from Doppler radar and automatic weather stations indicate that moderate showers associated with Tomas have started to affect sections of St. Mary, Portland, St. Thomas, Kingston and St. Andrew and St. Catherine.  Winds gusting to 56 km/h (35 mph) have also been detected in Morant Point, St. Thomas. There have been no reports of flooding, landslide or storm surge in these areas so far.

UTILITIES

Jamaica Public Service

The National Emergency Operations Centre and the Parish Emergency Operations have been activated.

National Water Commission

The Emergency Plan for the organization has been activated. The Commission is working to restore systems that were disrupted during Tropical Storm Nicole. Work on the Ferry system is on-going and is expected to be restored by late afternoon.

CRITICAL SECTORS

Ministry of Health

The Health Emergency Operation Centre has been activated at the Bustamante hospital and emergency plans have been activated.

National Works Agency

The EOC has been activated. Parish Managers and Contractors have been placed on stand-by. No pre-positioning has taken place but the resources are on stand-by.

Jamaica Defence Force

The Operations centre is up and running. All units are on stand-by.

JUTC

The JUTC is on stand-by to assist in evacuation in the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region (KMTR). This includes Spanish Town, Portmore and Kingston.

Jamaica Constabulary Force

The Emergency Centre is stationed at Police HQ. The Parish Divisional Management Team has been structured into Parish Divisional Command Centre. The JCF is on stand-by to assist in the business district, evacuation, crime hot spots and support for evacuation.

Welfare and Relief Operations

Ministry of Labour and Social Security

The Agency and all parish teams are currently on stand-by to conduct needs assessment.

Shelters

There are 7 shelters opened in six parishes housing 21 persons. All shelters in Portland are on stand-by.

Parish	Location	Adults	Children	Total
Kingston	Friendship Brook All Age	10	7	17
Edith Dalton James High	3		3
St. Catherine	Old Harbour High	1		1
Manchester	Fairfield Mountain SDA
St. Elizabeth	All Shelters in the New Community (since T/S Nicole)	–	–	–
Hanover	Chigwell Community Centre (from T/S/ Nicole)	–	–	–
Portland	All shelters	–	–	–
TOTAL		14	7	21

The public is advised to take the following precautions in the event of heavy rains:

• Be ready to evacuate if you live in low-lying or flood-prone areas.

• Decide on likely evacuation routes now and avoid flooded waterways, i.e. Fording, gullies, streams or rivers, either on foot or in vehicles.

The ODPEM will continue to monitor the situation and further updates will be provided as the situation demands.

Contact: Kimberley Weller, Information Officer kweller@odpem.org.jm