Hurricane Melissa damaged 156,000 dwellings across the parishes of St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Manchester, St. James, Trelawny and Hanover, with 24,000 being total losses.

Director-general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Commander Alvin Gayle, gave the update during a special press conference at Jamaica House on November 19.

He reported that 97 emergency shelters remain active, housing some 1,296 persons.

The ODPEM director-general said that several communities continue to be impacted by rising groundwater.

These are Bogue in Clarendon; Comfort Hall, Content District, Evergreen, and Harmons in Manchester; Brighton, New Market, and sections of Santa Cruz in St. Elizabeth; Chigwell, Hanover; and Douglas Castle and Pedro River in St. Ann.

Commander Gayle said that no community remains inaccessible at this time. Giving a report on the Jamaica Public Service’s (JPS) restoration efforts, he informed that approximately 31 per cent of the population remains without electricity.

“Prioritisation efforts continue in critical economic zones in St. James, St. Ann and Trelawny,” he informed.

In addition, 24 per cent of the National Water Commission’s (NWC) system remains offline.

“(This is) primarily due to damage in western parishes and power instability in some regions,” the ODPEM director general said.

Meanwhile, Commander Gayle said telecommunications has shown steady progress with providers restoring just about 70 per cent of mobile sites. Over 90 per cent of daily active users of mobile networks can access services, including mobile data.

The confirmed deaths from Hurricane Melissa remain at 45, with nine cases under investigation, and 15 persons still missing.