Prime Minister Andrew Holness says Jamaica has a well-developed disaster response mechanism to effectively respond to natural disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes.

“Jamaica has a well-developed disaster response mechanism, you would have seen it in action during COVID, you would have seen in action when we were threatened by hurricanes. It is very comprehensive, it takes care of the political directorate of the country then it goes down to the executive, to the public sector bureaucracy and to our partnership with the private sector and civil society, so it’s very inclusive. So, there is a disaster response committee that works and is provided with legislative authority,” Holness said speaking at a Office of the Prime Minister press conference on Monday, October 30.

On Monday, the island was rocked by a 5.6-magnitude earthquake, which preliminary assessments indicate has caused minor infrastructure damage and power outages in some areas. The power supply has since been restored, according to the country’s sole power distributor Jamaica Public Service Company.

No death has been reported.

The Opposition People’s National Party, however, is demanding answers over what it has described as “the obvious failure of the country’s disaster response mechanisms” following the earthquake. According to the PNP. there was no communication from the country’s principal disaster response agency, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, for up to six hours after the episode. Further, it said damage is worse than the prime minister has claimed.

“Generally our disaster response entities know what to do, so this would include the Jamaica Fire Brigade, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, and The Jamaica Defence Force, it would also be coordinated by ODPEM[ Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management] which would have the duty to coordinate all the entities. But the National Works Agency, the National Water Commission, all those entities, all the utilities, they all know what to do so there is an established protocol which is why we are keeping this press conference to say to Jamaicans you can have confidence in tomorrow, in the future, that the government is prepared and we are able to respond,” Holness assured.

The prime minister further noted that fiscal buffers have also been implemented to ensure that the country is able to respond to the impacts of natural disasters.