'Shelters are safe': McKenzie urges residents in vulnerable areas to seek refuge

Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie is reiterating that shelters across Jamaica are safe spaces for people who live in communities vulnerable to severe weather events such as Hurricane Melissa, and is urging them to go to these facilities to see out the impending weather system.

"I am aware of reports in the media today, which indicate that some people are concerned that they will not be secure if they use the shelters. I want to put everyone at ease where this is concerned. Every one of our over 881 shelters across Jamaica is run by a shelter manager who has a support team, and they are at the facility before, during, and after the Hurricane," said McKenzie in a media release on Monday.

He noted that men and women are housed separately, except where whole families are being accommodated at the shelter.

The local government minister said shelters are clean and are provisioned with all necessary supplies to ensure that all hygienic and public health standards are maintained.

The police will be patrolling the various spaces before and after the Hurricane, he added.

"It is critical that persons, especially in vulnerable areas, use these shelters, which have been selected and prepared to ensure their safety from the hurricane. I urge you not to be crippled by fear, or discouraged by rumours. The only purpose of the shelters is your safety. Your Government is not callous or dismissive of your anxieties about leaving your homes for what could be a few days at least. However, I urge you to remember that personal, community, and national recovery from this historically serious hurricane is only possible if you are alive and well to make it happen. We want every single person in this country to be alive and accounted for when Melissa is over," said McKenzie.

"I therefore call on you to co-operate with the agents of the ODPEM, the disaster co-ordinators and the security forces if you live in a specially vulnerable area. Please lock up your houses, take the things you need and move out temporarily. If you can stay with friends or relatives, please do so. If this is not possible, please take whatever supplies you need, including food, water and any medicines, use the buses being provided, and go to the shelter nearest to you to see out the passage of Hurricane Melissa. These facilities are literally your shelter from the storm, and I call on you to use them."

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