The National Works Agency (NWA) is gearing up to start another round of its Disaster Mitigation Programme in the parishes of Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine and St. Thomas. The initiative forms part of a larger island wide effort which targets critical drains and gullies and is expected to mitigate flood events during the 2024 hurricane season. Forty – one million dollars will be spent to clean targeted drains across all constituencies in southeastern Jamaica.
Manager of Communication and Customer Services at the NWA, Stephen Shaw, says that critical drainage systems across the four parishes will be selected for cleaning. He says critical drains are the ones integral to the drainage network and include those in perennial flood prone areas.
Mr. Shaw further stated that the programme of work for some locations is still being finalized, however the NWA expects the cleaning exercise to be executed over the next eight weeks. He says consultations continue to take place with elected representatives, so as to involve a wide cross section of persons in the discussions on the execution of the works.
The work to be undertaken forms part of the NWA’s annual drainage mitigation work, which is undertaken as part of preparation for the Atlantic Hurricane Season. The season runs from June to November. The NWA has planned three phases of drain mitigation works for execution over this period.
