ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica — Authorities in St Elizabeth are working to identify alternative emergency shelters ahead of the 2026 Atlantic Hurricane Season, which begins June 1, while also seeking to ensure the parish has adequate safe havens should residents need to be relocated.

Speaking during the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation’s monthly meeting on Thursday, Chairman and Mayor of Black River, Councillor Richard Solomon, noted that a high-level meeting held last week in Kingston with the Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Desmond McKenzie, has prompted authorities to look beyond traditional facilities to safeguard residents.

“Thus far, we would have done over 80 per cent inspection of our shelters and we all know that most of our shelters [are] our schools. More than 50 per cent of what we would have assessed cannot host any shelterees [due to Hurricane Melissa],” Solomon outlined.