Norman Grindley
A resident of Newmarket, St. Elizabeth, points to a shop which was half -covered with water yesterday.Nagra Plunkett, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
Rising flood waters caused by Tropical Storm Lili have left residents in several communities of Eastern Hanover marooned.
Sections of St. Elizabeth, literally submerged by Lili's rage have been evacuated by order of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM). In other sections of that parish, road closure signs tell the tale.
Since last Monday roadways in the communities of Forest and Chigwell in Hanover have been transformed into large lagoons with water as high as 10 feet. Residents who live on the opposite side of these communities namely Pace Village, Chester and Old Pen have to swim across the body of waters or hire the services of raftsmen.
"People have to either swim, use the raft or walk miles through the hills to cut out the water," Clarence McCourtie told The Sunday Gleaner yesterday. Mr. McCourtie, an elderly farmer of Forest district, lost his farming ground and a few livestock to Lili. He said this was the third time that the area was being affected by flood waters, recalling the 1979 floods and the recent June rains.
When The Sunday Gleaner visited Forest, some residents could be seen paying fees of $100 each to ride on rafts across the water, while others swam and played in the water. They say that the water had at one stage, reached the top of the utility poles and bamboo trees.
"We did not have any loss of life here, is just that some crops gone," another resident, Balfour Chisholm, remarked.
Mr. Chisholm noted too that he had some health concerns as most of the residents were just living at "arm's length" away from the water.
"The mosquitoes are a nuisance as they are now breeding by the thousands since the rains," he said. "There could be an epidemic waiting to happen as livestock, graves and latrines were washed down into the water. We would like somebody to come and treat the water as it is now stagnant and we have our children to think about."
Over in Newmarket in St. Elizabeth, one of the communities which was evacuated on orders of the ODPEM, the residents claim that the flood waters were receding, contradicting official reports. However, roadways from the community to Darliston and New Savanna were still impassable and were posted with road closure signs.
The rising water in Slipe, Punches and Cattaboo districts in the parish has reached dangerously high levels. Boats are being used by residents to remove people from low-lying areas to higher ground.
The Black River morass overflowed both sides of the road leading to the community and residents were finding it very difficult to leave the area.
The road from Slipe, leading into Lacovia is inaccessible to small vehicles and boats are the only means of transportation from the affected area.
Garfield Brown and Presley Brown, two residents from Slipe, told The Sunday Gleaner that before they could get any means of transportation into Black River, they had to take their clothes off and walk approximately two miles, through the water which is over 4ft deep.
The Residents are appealing to the ODPEM for immediate help in the community. They say they are urgently in need of food, mattresses and clothing.
The main roads in Middle Quarters, New River and New Holland were still impassable because of the flooding.
Freelance writer Analee Bernard also contributed to this story
