On Wednesday, Jamaicans were sceptical that Gustav would have trampled the island.

At worst, they expected strong winds to the north.

On Thursday, the ritual of last minute preparations began as shoppers stormed grocery stores to stock up on food.

Gustav was coming.

Jamaica Public Service Company, the most villified of companies in the aftermath of a storm, at mid-morning, advised that it had activated its emergency operation centre, but said it would not shut off power supply unless 'absolutely necessary'.

Digicel Jamaica, which has the most extensive mobile network in the island, with more than 1,000 cell towers, said its crisis management team had been activated to keep Jamaicans connected.

The company did not fare as well as rival Cable and Wireless Jamaica in the last big storm.

Back-up generators are in place at all of Digicel's cell cites - as is an arrangement with three petroleum retailers that have committed to meeting any extra fuel requirements, the company said in a statement.

With Hurricane Gustav on its way, Digicel has activated its comprehensive Hurricane Preparedness Plan to protect the interests of its customers, staff, dealers and distributors.

"We know how crucial our service is to our customers at this time, and want to assure everyone that we are doing everything in our power to ensure our customers have continued service" said CEO, Mark Linehan.

business@gleanerjm.com