- Noel ThompsonOne of many buildings in New Market, St. Elizabeth, affected by the rising flood waters.
Noel Thompson, Freelance Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
NEARLY one month after heavy rains lashed the island, sections of Hanover and St. Elizabeth remain severely waterlogged.
On a visit to New Market, St. Elizabeth, at 6:10 Friday morning, water measuring at least 50 feet covered valleys and trees in some sections. In other parts of the community houses and shops were under four to six feet of water.
Among the hardest hit residents are the farmers, whose crops have rotted. They said their crops were ready for reaping before the rains. Those persons whose farms are located in areas where the water has begun to recede said they have begun replanting. However, they would have to wait another six months before their produce is ready for the market.
"The water is still rising right now. A whole heap a things we lose, such as cows and acres of crops," Calvin Campbell, a farmer told The Sunday Gleaner. "All a mi cow dem drown. Mi wuk nuff ground in different areas but all a dem gone - about five squares," he said of his crops.
Director of resource management of the Water Resources Authority, Herbert Thomas, confirmed the situation in that community, noting that the water is rising "very slowly at this time".
A 62-year-old farmer, Ivan Holness, was tethering his cattle in what was once a pasture. He corroborated Mr. Campbell's story. "Everything is gone. Even the animals can't get any grass to eat because the place is covered with water. My four-bedroom house is surrounded by water. My family and I are staying with relatives," he said, recalling that a similar scenario unfolded in June 1979.
Mr. Holness, who is a senior member at the New Market Seventh-Day Adventist Church, said church members had sourced foodstuff through its disaster committee and had distributed the goods to more than 100 affected residents, last Thursday. Ivan Williams, one of the first persons to be flooded out, has estimated his loss at approximately $500,000.
"I would like the agriculture ministry to send a tractor to plough some lands as soon as the water runs off," he said.
But Wilbern Hussett, like several others who have lost all their cultivation, has started over again. He has utilised neighbouring lands to plant other crops.
However, the affected residents have a single determination: as soon as the water subsides, they will be returning to their original spots to continue what they had been forced to give up.
"It was worse than this in the June 1979 flood and we just wait until the water draw then we go right back there. We don't have anywhere else to go," Mr. Hussett stated.
Meanwhile, several residents are still being housed at relatives' dwelling, while at least nine others are sheltering in the community centre. In some instances, the route leading to some houses are impassable.
The main road leading into New Market, which is used as a major by-pass between Montego Bay and Middle Quarters, remains inundated. This has forced motorists to use a mud-laced track as the only alternate route. "That is one reason why we want this road to be asphalted. It is in a very bad state," Mr. Holness said.
