With the devastation of Hurricane Beryl in July still fresh in their minds, many Jamaicans left nothing to chance on Monday as they braced for the impact of Tropical Storm Rafael, which was forecast to dump heavy rains across island, potentially leading to floods and landslides.

The weather system, according to the Jamaica Meteorological Service (Meteorological Office), was projected to bring heavy rain and strong winds mainly to the southern and eastern parishes starting Monday evening and continuing for the next few days.

The government has activated the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) in light of the expected adverse weather conditions, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office announced on Monday. NEOC, the statement said, stands ready to coordinate preparedness and response measures as the situation evolves. He said the center will focus on mobilizing resources, ensuring effective communication and maintaining readiness to provide support and aid to communities that may be affected.

At the same time, the Acting Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) Richard Thompson told Jamaica Observer Monday afternoon that the office was in full readiness and emergency protocols in place.

Thompson noted that while no shelters were open at this time, all shelter managers on the island were put on hold.

“So that’s part of our preparation — from what we’ve been doing since Friday in terms of observing the system with ODPEM and the Met Office, and then from our operations planning meeting yesterday afternoon where we got an update from all entities regarding their preparedness plans as well as from local authorities. Shelter managers (are on alert) for shelters to be activated, particularly in flood-prone areas, as needed based on what’s happening in those locations,” he said.

Thompson explained that since the system’s projected track is southwest of Jamaica and continues to move a little further southwest, “We thought we’d have wind gusts of probably up to 40 knots — which is about 45 miles per hour. or 70 kilometers per hour – and so most of what we’re going to get is rain.”

He said that while the rainfall is expected to be mainly concentrated in the southern and eastern parishes, a tropical storm warning is in effect for the entire island and so everywhere will have rainfall activity.

“People have to be alert. Anything is possible as flash floods can happen at any time,” he warned.

“We’ve already had landslides with the amount of rainfall we’ve had in the last two to three weeks, the ground being at maximum saturation. We have a landslide in Golden Spring to Mount Airy – that road broke and the community is literally deserted. There is another major landslide between Border and Cuffy Gully in St Mary; those areas have already been affected outside of us, preparing for Tropical Storm Rafael,” he said.

He also advised people to be vigilant and not try to cross flooded areas, “because two feet of water can wash away a car.”

“We are also reminding people not to try to cross flooded gullies. Some people like to cross certain areas that have culverts – they put planks over the culverts and cross it because that’s the shortest way from one community to another community, instead of going around or going on a pipe. a soda. We tell people, “Don’t do that, especially when it’s raining. We don’t want people trying to cross these flooded areas. And just listen to the updates from ODPEM and the Met Office,” he said.

Meanwhile, in a statement on Monday, Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) also said it has activated its Emergency Operations Center located at 65 Hanover Street, Kingston, which manages all emergency shelters in Kingston and St Andrew. (See related story on page 8).

In addition, the Corporation’s Poor Relief Department has started schemes for the homeless and other vulnerable groups.

Kingston Mayor Councilor Andrew Swaby said Observer that the Department of Health and the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) will assist KSAMC in picking up homeless people for placement in homeless shelters where necessary.