Jamaica Gleaner

Moving reluctantly

By Leonardo Blair, Staff Reporter

Almost 100 residents from the sprawling St. Catherine community of Portmore were jolted from their homes this morning after first rains from the nearing Hurricane Ivan began dusting the island this morning.

After refusing to leave their homes up to last night, on information that the disaster was imminent the worried residents reluctantly started packing with the help of volunteers this morning.

The group of mostly elderly couples and children armed with containers of water, bedding and emergency food items boarded several Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) buses for government established shelters in Kingston. But even though they had decided to leave some still harboured thoughts that maybe, just maybe Ivan had changed course.

"Look at the sky, you don't see that it clear up now. No hurricane not coming, just look outside, the hurricane not coming anymore," said an elderly woman searching for approval of her question.

It never came and the people just continued boarding the buses.

"I am not leaving my car, I can't leave my car, will there be space at the shelter for me to park my car," asked another elderly woman who felt the media was only present to noise her business abroad.

"Because there was no rain the people did not want to leave but we expected this. As soon as the rains started, we expected them to start coming out," said Evelyn Rose, shelter manager at the Portmore HEART Academy.

In the meantime other residents of the community were busy trimming trees and taking other last minute hurricane precautions. Out in areas like Central Village and Spanish Town there were several small drain cleaning exercises
taking place while on Marcus Garvey Drive a police sergeant veered off the slippery road into the Tinson Pen Gully, while driving his private Toyota Townace vehicle. He escaped serious injury.

At 11 a.m. EST the eye of Hurricane Ivan was about 155 miles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. Ivan is moving towards the west-northwest near 12 mph. This motion is expected to bring the core of Ivan near Jamaica tonight or early Saturday. Maximum sustained winds are near 145 mph with higher gusts. Stringer winds, especially in gusts are likely over elevated terrain. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next 24 hours.