MTW AND ITS AGENCIES WEATHER HURRICANE 'IVAN'

The Ministry of Transport and Works along with its various Agencies was able to, notwithstanding some challenges, weather hurricane 'Ivan' which devastated the island last week Friday, September 10, 2004.

At a meeting of Agency heads and Ministry personnel recently, reports were given concerning the stewardship of the Agencies which report to the Ministry. Following is a compendium of reports.

CARIBBEAN MARITIME INSTITUTE (CMI)
Some amount of damage took place at the institution. Trees were blown down and there is an absence of water. During the passage of the hurricane Jamaican students were sent home while foreign students stayed at the facility at Copacobana. Classrooms and simulators are in working condition. Damage was done to the Port Royal Police Station, consequently they are now housed at Admiralty House which is a part of CMI. Cost of damage - approximately $8-10M plus a further $3M for Admiralty House.

MARITIME AUTHORITY OF JAMAICA (MARAJ)
No damage recorded at this facility. A survey of status of vessels is currently being done. In Mobay and Negril a combined eleven vessels were slightly damaged. Communication is ongoing with international clients.

JAMAICA URBAN TRANSIT COMPANY (JUTC)
Several depots have been damaged. The Portmore Depot had part of its roof damaged as well as some tiles. Asheneim Road Depot had flooding in the yard while some lights were damaged. At Rockfort, the perimeter fence was blown down and five drainpipes damaged. Lyndhurst Road had its roof and subvents blown off while Spanish Town had ceiling tiles damaged. As far as bus service is concerned, 1/3 of the routes are up and running up to 9:00 pm while others run until 7:00pm. Service is not currently available on the Lawrence Tavern/Golden Spring Roads. During the three days surrounding the withdrawal of the service, the JUTC lost approximately $16M. During the passage of the hurricane, 15 emergency calls were received and responded to; this in addition to those which were scheduled.

NATIONAL ROAD OPERATING CONSTRUCTION COMPANY (NROCC)
The Old Harbour Bypass held up well during the hurricane and was a clear route to the rest of the island. Equipment from NROCC assisted in the clearing of various roads all over the island. December 15th is still being considered as the opening date for the Mandela segment of Highway 2000.

PORT AUTHORITY
Shortly after the passage of the hurricane, vessels were up and sailing but there were some challenges faced by the Port Authority during the passage of the hurricane. In Kingston Harbour, the outer buoys were lost but were re-installed by Sunday. In Port Antonio, a beacon and range light were lost. Both Ocho Rios and Montego Bay had very little damage. Port Kaiser had the section between the land and pier cut off. Rocky Point was badly damaged and the walkway has been cut off. At the Morant Point Lighthouse some amount of erosion occurred while the road to the Portland Cottage Lighthouse has been blocked. At the time of this report operations have been largely back to a position of normality with approximately 20 ships and 9000 containers in port. Space for the containers is posing something of a problem.

CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY (CAA)
No major damage was done to operations for which this Agency is responsible. Air Traffic Controllers continued their operations from the CAA Winchester Road head office during the hurricane. The microwave link attached to the Radar was damaged but should be back in operation very shortly. The road to Air Hill, one of the stations for which the CAA is responsible is inaccessible and needs to be cleared.

AERONAUTICAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS (AEROTEL)
KOOL FM, the radio station operated by AEROTEL was the only station up and serving the western end of the island. The services of the JPSCo are required to replace generators.

ISLAND TRAFFIC AUTHORITY (ITA)
The Lucea Depot lost its roof during the hurricane, officers are now housed at the NWA Office nearby. In Sav-la-mar, a tarpaulin is being used to assist in covering the building as that office also suffered from damage. Approximately $5M is required to get operations back to normal.

PORT SECURITY CORP
This Agency had very little in the way of challenges. Approximately 300 officers worked at the various ports (both sea and air) during the passage of the hurricane. At the Norman Manley International Airport, some worked for as much as 96 hours.

AIRPORTS AUTHORITY OF JAMAICA (AAJ)
The access road to the Norman Manley Airport which falls under the responsibility of the AAJ was impassable but was cleared in short order with the help of the NWA and personnel from Bouygues (the company responsible for the building of Highway 2000). The Airport was re-opened on Monday, September 13. The Emergency Centre at the Airport continues to function on a daily basis and the UNDP representative in Jamaica is also operating from that location as well. The local Tinson Pen Aerodrome re-commenced operations on Monday, September 13.

The Norman Manley Airport suffered extensive damage to cargo buildings; half of the Customs Hall was inundated with water and is now being repaired; the carousels were also soaked. The perimeter fence was damaged, so was the fire station and the roof of the watchtower. Water and electricity are now back at the airport. The Negril and Boscobel Aerodromes suffered very little damage. Approximately $20M will be required to deal with damage to buildings. Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay suffered very little damage.

NATIONAL WORKS AGENCY (NWA)
Some 569 roads were reported blocked islandwide; 207 of these have been open to single lane traffic while 121 have been totally cleared(up to the time of this report).

In terms of road damage, most major arteries have been re-opened. Some of the more significant road challenges concern places such as Chigwell in Hanover where water is and continues to rise (the main road is totally impassable), Tangle River in St. James where the road is totally cut off; Ulster Spring/Stetin/German Town in Southern Trelawny where the road is cut off in various places; HighgateHall to Stetin where the hillside is slipping down the slopes; Troy to Albert Town is badly affected; Big Pond near Old Harbour in St. Catherine is flooded. Damage to bridge abbuttments is yet to be assessed. (A more detailed report on roads will be done)

ROAD MAINTENANCE FUND
Personnel from the Fund will, along with NWA, be doing assessments with a view to ascertaining cost of damage. A planned tour of the South Coast is to be convened.

AIR JAMAICA
During the passage of the hurricane, all communications systems were removed to Miami and there were no loss of aeroplanes. On Friday, September 10, 88 flights were cancelled, 86 on Saturday, 78 on Sunday 29 on Monday, 12 on Tuesday, by Wednesday, everything was back to normal. Air Jamaica crews were stuck all over the world during the hurricane but that situation was eventually resolved. The airline is currently assisting in transporting passengers from Cayman which has been ravaged by Hurricane Ivan. One flight with 178 persons came in on Tuesday while 2 flights were to be done on Wednesday. Damage assessments are currently being done by the airline.