Press Release # 1 Issued on: Tuesday January 24, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. Riverhead Community Receives Upgrade to its Footpath

Riverhead community within the district of Llandewey, St. Thomas recently received a major upgrade to its footpath with the construction of a footbridge and a U drain across the area’s main gully. The newly installed footbridge will allow unimpeded access to the Riverhead Basic School during instances of prolonged rainfall. The initiative was a joint venture between the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and the Llandewey Zonal Committee.

Press Release # 1 Issued on: Friday January 13, 2012 at 11:40 a.m. “ODPEM to Conduct a National Earthquake & Tsunami Simulation”

The Office of Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Management (ODPEM) will spearhead a national Earthquake and Tsunami Simulation Exercise. The exercise dubbed National Simulation Exercise 2012 (NaSIMEX 2012) will take place on February 15 and 16, 2012 within the parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew and St. Catherine.

Press Release # 1 Issued on: Thursday January 12, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. “Haiti Quake- Two Years Later”

Today marks the second anniversary of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake which struck Haiti. It was reported that the epicenter of the quake was approximately 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, the country's capital. The quake was considered the worst in the region in more than 200 years and a study by the Inter-American Development Bank estimated that the total cost of the disaster was between $7.2 and $13.2 billion USD, based on a death toll from 200,000 to 250,000 persons.

Press Release # 1 Issued on: Friday January 6, 2012 at 12:30 p.m. “Earthquake Awareness Week 2012 Campaign Officially Starts Sunday”

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) will be observing Earthquake Awareness Week (EAW) 2012 from January 8 to 14, 2012 under the theme “Earthquakes can strike anywhere, anytime. Be prepared there are no signs.” This annual event is aimed at increasing the general awareness and encouraging Jamaicans to implement more active earthquake preparedness measures to effectively reduce our risk to this unpredictable hazard.