MANDEVILLE, Manchester —With mainly the northern section of the parish impacted by Hurricane Melissa seven months ago, chairman of the Manchester Municipal Corporation, mayor of Mandeville Donovan Mitchell says shelter repairs, drain cleaning, and road repairs are underway in the parish in preparation for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season which started on Monday.

“We are prepared… We generally know that the first two to three months of the hurricane season are not that active, but towards the end of [ the period it] becomes active. We are making sure that by the time if something should hit us in the latter part of the hurricane season that we are ready for any eventualities,” Mitchell told the Jamaica Observer.

“We are proactive. We are not waiting until anything happens before we do some work, and so as a municipality Manchester is about 80 per cent ready — and we are sure that if anything should come that we are in a position to deal with it,” added Mitchell.