JAMAICANS HAVE been warned to prepare for hurricane season as the island remains vulnerable for the next six months.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness launched the national hurricane preparedness campaign for the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 to November 30.

The campaign, which is being spearheaded by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), aims to increase public awareness of all hazards,

Speaking at the official launch at Jamaica House on Tuesday, Holness said ODPEM plays the lead role in the achieving of the objectives as the national disaster coordinating agency.

“ODPEM in collaboration with national, regional and international agencies is committed to taking proactive and timely measures to prevent or reduce the impact of hazards on Jamaica, its people, natural resources and economy,” he said.

Despite weather systems starting at different points on the map during the season, the path taken after being formed carries them in the direction of Jamaica and the possibility of a direct hit.

Director of the National Meteorological Office of Jamaica, Evon Thompson, also spoke at the launch and the urged residents on the Caribbean island to be safe. Thompson said: “Based on the climatology for tropical cyclone development and motion, Jamaica in the north western Caribbean Sea, remains vulnerable to activity from tropical cyclones in six months of the hurricane season.

“The hurricane season is for six months, which means that throughout every month, there is a level of vulnerability that Jamaica has, being in the north western Caribbean.”

He added that hurricanes start at different points in each of the six months of the season, which starts on June 1 and ends on November 30.

It is expected to be above-normal systems this year, with approximately 20 tropical storms, with 10 becoming hurricanes, of which six being major.

A normal season has 14 named storms, of which seven become hurricanes and three developing into major hurricanes.

It is predicted that best outcome for Jamaica that they would have the most 13 storms, with six developing into hurricanes and only three will become major.