The Portmore City Municipality (PCM) is cognizant of the city's vulnerability to a number of natural and manmade hazards and the effects of climate change. Our mandate is to ensure that Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and mitigation are two of our priority goals. As such, the Council, therefore, embraces the resilience definition given by the Rockefeller Foundation. We are also working in collaboration with the national body with responsibility for Disaster Management, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, other government agencies, civil society, and NGOs to fulfill our mandate.
Due to Portmore’s geographical location and geological formation the entire population is vulnerable, however not the entire population is experiencing poverty. Recent hurricanes experienced have reminded us that Portmore is very vulnerable to this hazard. Hurricanes experience such as Gilbert in 1988, Ivan in 2004, Dean in 2007, and Sandy in 2012 also Tropical Storm Gustave in 2008, and Nicole in 2010. These systems have caused, death, injury, displacement and homelessness and significant damage to the infrastructure especially in areas where poverty is prevalent. Poor residents are considered more vulnerable than the other group as they are more at risk due to financial, social, environmental, and cultural factors. The poor lives directly in flood-prone areas, houses are in deplorable condition, housing infrastructures are unable to withstand wind effects because of the type of material used for building and they are unable to find food when disaster strike. Some of these poor and vulnerable areas are section of Gregory Park, Waterford, Newland, Naggo Head, and a small portion of the
We have embarked on several activities to assist in strengthening Portmore communities' capacity. Some of these include training, public education, development of an evacuation plan, development of several Community Disaster Risk Management Plans and identity and equipping community emergency response teams to respond in the event of any eventuality.
Observed trends and indicators have assured the Council that the City is striving to obtain resilience. We observed that some residents are being proactive in responding to hurricanes, civic groups have incorporated disaster management on their agenda and the structural integrity of houses has improved in some areas.