Tropical Storm Nicole - Planning Institute of Jamaica

VII. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Since 2001, Jamaica has been impacted by nine disaster events. These disasters have continued to
highlight Jamaica’s physical vulnerability as well as the man-made factors which have exacerbated
the problem. Thus, in the wake of the ever increasing climate change risks, there is a need to take
steps to build resilience to natural disasters.
Encroachment of new developments (formal and informal) on flood plains continues to expose
large segments of the population to flooding. A considerable amount of the flooding is related to
poor drainage. One example of this is the community of Big Pond, St. Catherine which has been
subject to repeated flooding. The community is situated in a depression where storm water from all
the areas above the district flows to and collects in a pond, resulting in the roads being impassable
for several days. In many urban areas, flooding occurs because of residential encroachment along
the banks of gullies. The impact of the Tropical Storm Nicole rains showed that in Sandy Park, St.
Andrew, for example, some houses were constructed on the banks of the Sandy Gully without
observing any setback limits. In other instances such as at Grants Pen, St. Andrew, houses were
built with a setback of less than one metre. Even with the existence of drains in some communities,
these were inadequate to transport great volumes of water.
Inappropriate land use, another factor affecting the vulnerability of Jamaicans to tropical weather
events, led to numerous instances of slope failure. In one case, in Upper St. Andrew, landslide led
to failure of a retaining wall and the death of workers who were sleeping in a shed on the property.
In some areas, there has been an increase in the number of developments being approved on the
hillside with the result that run-off has been reduced due to the reduction of permeable areas and
vegetation. In addition, the clearing of hillsides has led to increase in soil erosion and sedimentladen
runoff. Other factors affecting flooding include, the inability of existing drains to transport
the volume of water; the construction of houses with inadequate floor level heights; and
inappropriate land uses leading to blockage of sink holes.
The assessment of the disaster caused by Tropical Storm Nicole has reinforced the need for some of
the underlying factors affecting the vulnerability of the country to various hazards to be urgently
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