Minister of Local Government & Community Development the honour Noel Arscott is urging the public to be prepared for the approaching hurricane season.

Minister Arscott was speaking at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management’s (ODPEM) official launch of Hurricane and Disaster preparedness Months, observed in May and June respectively.  The launch took place on on May 1, 2013.

The Minister endorsed the theme adopted by the ODPEM, “Plan for Disaster in Advance, Give yourself a Fighting Chance”, pointing to the fact that weather partners around the world are constantly changing and unpredictable occurrences are becoming more frequent across the region. He urged persons to ‘give themselves a fighting chance’ by taking ODPEM’s messages seriously.

The Local Government Minister also charge other entities under his portfolio, the Jamaica Fire Brigade, and the Social Development Commission, to play there part in circulating the messages throughout the local communities.

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency management will be embarking on an intense public education campaign to educate persons about disaster preparedness.