Most of the country remained without electricity and water yesterday, following Hurricane Dean, which wreaked havoc upon the island, on Sunday.

Winsome Callum, head of corporate communications at the Jamaica Public Service Co. Ltd., said since damage assessment was still in progress, it was too early to say how badly the company's power system was damaged by the Hurricane Dean.

"However, initial indications are that there was severe damage to sections of the transmission system, particularly in the southern sections of the island. There was also widespread damage to the power distribution system, with the damage being more severe in some areas than others," she said.

According to Callum, the light and power company has begun restoration activities to some critical services in areas close to the power stations in Bogue, St. James and Kingston.

"Some customers in close proximity to these services could begin receiving their supply as early as this (yesterday) afternoon. It must be noted, however, that it could take weeks before others have their service restored," Callum said in a written response to The Gleaner.

Meanwhile, The National Water Commission (NWC) said yesterday that it had initiated evaluation and assessment exercises to determine the level and nature of damage done to its facilities. The water supplier has commenced the restoration of service to some areas of the island. Up to yesterday afternoon, at least 40 per cent of NWC's customers had received water.

Charles Buchanan, corporate public relations manager at the NWC, told The Gleaner that the water company was able to maintain service to 20 per cent of its customers during the hurricane despite the fact that virtually all 460 water systems and 68 waste-water systems across the island were affected in some way by the hurricane.

He further stated in a written response that the "first and highest priority of the NWC is to bring back into operation the largest and most critical water supply facilities that serve population centres and important public institutions such as hospitals and airports".

He said the company continued to face challenges in restoring service to some sections of every parish due to the blockage of roadways, but especially in some sections of Manchester, Clarendon, St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, St. Thomas and Portland where teams were carrying out damage assessments.