KINGSTON, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Jamaican government is on high alert with all disaster management measures activated as Hurricane Matthew approaches the island, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said Thursday.
The prime minister advised the country's fishery workers to pay great attention to the hurricane warning and made a special call to those who live on the cays to evacuate.
He also asked citizens to take necessary precautions to prepare for the tropical cyclone which is forecasted to pass the island between Sunday and Monday as a Category 2 hurricane.
A Category 2 hurricane, defined by the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, describes a tropical cyclone that has a sustained wind speed of 154-177 km per hour, which has the power to tear the roofs of well-constructed houses and uproot trees.
At an emergency meeting called by the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday evening, Holness said he is satisfied with the work that has been done under the country's disaster preparedness and management system.
All relative agencies and parish disaster committees have been alerted, while emergency managers, responders and volunteers have been placed on standby, according to the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management.
Meanwhile, Holness urged members of parliament to check on blocked gullies and drains in their constituencies and move quickly to do necessary cleaning work to avoid potential flooding.
He said an advanced allocation from the Constituency Development Fund will be made available as early as Friday for this purpose.
"The government will do all it can, but I have to appeal to all Jamaicans to look out for their own safety and security," he said.
Matthew was formed on Wednesday morning near the Eastern Caribbean.
It passed through the Leeward Islands as a tropical storm on Wednesday afternoon, causing floods and power outages in Dominica and St. Lucia. At least one person was reported killed in relation to it in St. Vincent.
While moving westwards, the cyclone continued to gain strength and became a hurricane on Thursday. At 3 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Friday, it was centered about 200 km north of Curacao with maximum sustained winds near 130 kmph.
Forecasting it will "make a dramatic turn towards the northwest" on Saturday, Jamaica's National Meteorological Service has issued a severe weather alert asking citizens to prepare for the possible impact.
