THE Government is introducing a new disaster preparedness component to this year’s Youth Summer Employment Programme (YSEP), with 200 young Jamaicans being employed through to the end of the hurricane season to support municipal disaster response efforts.

The initiative comes after the Government’s response to Hurricane Melissa exposed gaps in community-level disaster coordination, prompting officials to redesign part of the annual employment programme to strengthen preparedness at the municipal level.

The announcement was made Tuesday by Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie, who said the initiative was developed based on lessons learnt from Hurricane Melissa.