JAMAICA | Local Authorities’ Role in Disaster Management: Current and Future Perspectives

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica, January 20, 2026 | Christopher Powell - The devastation wrought by Hurricane Melissa has laid bare a profound and dangerous disconnect within our national disaster response framework. 

While recovery efforts are underway, it is conspicuously evident that the primary agencies legally mandated for local preparedness and action—our local authorities—have been rendered passive spectators, watching from the sidelines as a centralised command structure attempts to solve deeply localised problems. 

This is not merely an operational choice; it is a systemic failure that contravenes established law and jeopardises community resilience.

The statutory role of local authorities is unambiguous. The Local Governance Act (2016), Section 21 (1) (f), explicitly charges them to "engage in disaster preparation, mitigation and recovery as well as emergency management and responses, within the area of its jurisdiction." 

This mandate is reinforced by the Disaster Risk Management Act (2015), which in Section 20 (1) makes each local authority responsible for the full disaster management cycle—prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery—within its parish. The legal architecture for a robust, decentralised system is firmly in place.

Yet, in practice, this architecture remains an empty shell. The central question is why this legislative intent has been so thoroughly neutered. The answer lies in a chronic and deliberate deprivation of capacity. 

Local authorities have been given a monumental responsibility without the corresponding tools, resources, or institutional support to fulfil it. The typical configuration—a single, isolated Disaster Coordinator with no departmental staff, limited training, and only a small storeroom for basic supplies—is a recipe for ineffectiveness. 

This individual, however dedicated, is set up to fail, inevitably forcing reliance on central government agencies that lack granular community knowledge.

This capacity gap is further illustrated by missed opportunities for advancement. In 2021, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), through its BRICS Programme, offered direct funding to local authorities to develop critical Parish Disaster Plans. 

Tellingly, only the St. Thomas Municipal Corporation attempted to access this vital resource, and its efforts were stymied by a lack of support from its parent Ministry. 

This episode highlights a deeper pathology: not only are local authorities under-resourced, but existing pathways to build capacity are often blocked by bureaucratic inertia at higher levels.

The stakes of this failure extend far beyond hurricane response. Climate change is intensifying threats, while unchecked development and environmental degradation exacerbate vulnerabilities. 

If successive governments are sincere in their commitments to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and our own Vision 2030, then a fundamental recalibration of governance and planning is urgently required. 

Disaster resilience must be woven into the very fabric of local land-use and development decisions.

Therefore, to transform local authorities from sidelined spectators into empowered leaders of community resilience, the following comprehensive recommendations are put forward:

1. Integrate Resilience into Planning: Parish Development Orders and Parish Land Use Maps must become statutory, binding documents that guide the decisions of local Planning Committees, ensuring development is directed away from high-risk zones.

2. Mandate Data-Driven Decisions: Planning Committees must be legally required to consider and incorporate risk assessments and mitigation data provided by the Parish Disaster Coordinator before approving any project.

3. Unlock Critical Funding: Central government must actively facilitate and support local authorities in accessing and managing external funding, such as from CDEMA, to develop and implement Parish Disaster Plans.

4. Build Institutional Capacity: Each local authority must establish a fully funded and staffed Disaster Management Unit, moving from a one-person coordinator to a dedicated team with expertise in logistics, communication, and community outreach.

5. Enforce Environmental Mitigation: As a condition of planning permission, all residential and commercial applicants should be required to dedicate a minimum percentage of their property to green cover, including native tree planting, to manage runoff and reduce heat islands.

6. Invest in Continuous Training: A mandatory, ongoing training programme in disaster management principles, emergency operations, and climate adaptation must be instituted for all local authority staff, creating a culture of preparedness.

Hurricane Melissa is not an anomaly but a precursor. The current centralised, reactive model of disaster management is inefficient and unsustainable. 

The laws of this nation wisely vest primary responsibility for local disaster resilience in local authorities. It is now a matter of political will and national survival to provide them with the mandate, the means, and the ministerial support to execute that responsibility. 

We must move beyond mere legislation to genuine empowerment. By investing in decentralised capacity, integrating risk-sensitive planning, and unlocking critical resources, we can transform our local authorities from sidelined spectators into the first line of defence and the cornerstone of a truly resilient nation. 

The time for ad-hoc recovery is over; the era of planned, localised resilience must begin.

  Christopher Powell is a former Chief Executive Officer of four Municipal Corporations and an International Development Consultant.

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