Mayor of Kingston Councillor Andrew Swaby says the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Company is working to restore power to Corporate Area communities that have been without the utility since the passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 28.

Approximately 6,160 customers in Kingston and St Andrew remained without electricity as of Monday, November 10, he reported.

Mayor Swaby said that the majority of these customers, who are in rural St Andrew, are being impacted by service disruptions caused by infrastructure damage to the JPS network.

“JPS has reported that the major issues are access to parts of rural St Andrew, but restoration efforts are ongoing, and teams are working steadily towards full service,” he said.

Swaby was addressing the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation’s monthly sitting of Council on Tuesday, November 11, at the Corporation’s downtown Kingston offices.

Giving a report on the emergency operations that were undertaken during the hurricane, Swaby said parish emergency operation centres were fully activated in advance, with evacuation orders carried out in Port Royal and lower Rae Town.

Nearly 1,000 residents sought shelter across 65 designated locations. Supplies were distributed to shelters and shelter managers. The homeless population was cared for, and agencies worked around the clock to keep people safe.

“As of October 31, all shelterees have since left the facilities—some returned to their homes and others found comfort with relatives and friends,” he reported.

Swaby said while Kingston and St. Andrew were spared the worst of the damage, several communities were impacted by the storm.

These include Mavis Bank, Gordon Town, Irish Town, Lawrence Tavern, Stony Hill, Dallas, Red Hills, Kintyre District, and Brandon Hill.

The communities of St Peters and Somerset were marooned as they were cut off by blocked roads.

Roof damage, fallen trees, landslides and power outages were reported.