The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is working with residents and groups in the parishes of St Elizabeth, Manchester and Clarendon to ensure they are prepared to deal with the effects of disasters.

The move includes the drafting and approval of community disaster risk reduction plans and the training of residents to reduce the impact of disasters and to manage those which do occur.

Manager of ODPEM's Southern Region, Gregory Paragh, speaking at a JIS think tank on Tuesday, said that while some plans were already in place in St Elizabeth and Manchester, they lacked initiative.

"We are developing disaster plans for the infirmaries, hospitals and other critical facilities. We are also looking at the roles and responsibilities of the members of the respective groups," he said.

The work, which is being implemented under the Canadian International Development Agency-funded Building Disaster Resilient Communities Programme, started in Alligator Pond, St Elizabeth, with the training of people in basic disaster management and developing plans for the community.

Paragh said ODPEM is also doing work in Ginger Hill in the parish and will start another project in New River. He said work has been completed in Rocky Point, Clarendon, and projects will begin in Porus, Manchester, and Kellits, Clarendon.

Paragh said the communities are required to review the plans every six months. "We are trying to make the plans as fluid as possible. These are not documents that they write once and put away," he said.