jlauderdal wrote:aguaviva wrote:I agree with msbee. I have been listening to Jamaican radio and they seem to have good organization and information, the issue here will be the quality of the infrastructure and the availability of resources for recovery. I have been to Ocho Rios and it seems to me, based on what I saw there, that on both fronts the answer is: less than what is required to deal with a storm of this magnitude, especially one hitting Kingston head on, as this one is forecast to do.
Jamaicans are organized, have a good attitude and experience to deal with these storms. They will get this through better than the USA ever would. Not everyone has a zinc roof on the island folks.
Sorry, I have to disagree once again. Have you ever lived in the Caribbean? living in the Caribbean gives you a different perspective. You realize the housing on many islands is just plain not up to par.
Of course not everyone has a zinc roof. But, believe me, there are plenty of people on that island living in substandard housing and in rural areas. I was just talking to a friend of mine here who is from Jamaica. he has been calling home regularly.he said a lot of people don't even realize a storm is coming , especially in the rural areas and he said many cannot afford to protect their home properly. They just do not have the resources.
He sends money home all the time to his family so they can improve on their housing..Otherwise they simply do not have the resources.
He also said many people who live by the sea , like his grandmother, will just refuse to leave, having a whatever happened happens attitude.
For you to say that Jamaica will get through this better than the USA ever did is just not accurate, although I do admit nothing could be much worse than the Katrina fiasco.