NORMALITY IS slowly returning to Pierces Village, Forest, Chigwell and Old Pen in East Hanover, as the rising flood waters, which threatened the livelihood of residents in the communities, are receding.
Several residents of those areas were marooned in their homes earlier this month, following heavy rainfall that affected the island with the passing of Tropical Storm Lili. The Hanover Parish Council in collaboration with the Hanover Disaster Preparedness Commit-tee had to bring in relief supplies to persons marooned in the communities.
In an interview with JIS News, Disaster Preparedness Co-ordinator in Hanover, Clover Ferguson, stated that the flood waters that caused some residents to be marooned in their homes and made some roads impassable were now receding.
"The water has receded immensely at Forrest and Pierces Village and to a lesser extent also in Chigwell", she informed.
She pointed out that apart from the Chigwell/Old Pen main road, all other roads that were cut off by water were now traffic worthy. She stated that there was no longer a need for relief supplies to be sent to the area, as persons that were marooned could now leave their homes, either by their regular routes, or by newly-created routes.
Miss Ferguson informed, however, that farmers in the area, especially those with animals, were having difficulty tending their animals. She said that despite the displacement caused by the flood waters, not much material loss was suffered by the residents in the affected areas . The farmers were most affected by the heavy rains, as they suffered crop losses.
She said that the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emer-gency Management (ODPEM), through the Hanover Disaster Preparedness Commit-tee, was still closely monitoring the
situation.
