Roy Sanford, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
TWO WEEKS after Hurricane Ivan ravaged the island, life has not returned to normal for residents of New River in St. Elizabeth.
They are still facing rising flood waters, no electricity, clouds of mosquitoes, health concerns, and the near devastation of their livelihood.
Sections of the community are completely cut off, forcing residents to wade through chest-deep waters to do simple errands while many more have abandoned their homes and have sought refuge with relatives and friends or at crowded emergency shelters.
Lester Beharrie, chief health inspector for St. Elizabeth, warns that residents of New River are now exposed to a number of diseases including typhoid, dysentery and gastroenteritis because of the rising floodwaters.
And he is advising them to "avoid wading in the water at all costs because it is polluted by flooded pit toilets and animal refuse. Children in particular should be very careful."
Mr. Beharrie said that the area is also facing a mosquito nuisance but the health department is putting in measures to combat the problem.
'NOT GOOD AT ALL'
The short trip from the community to Santa Cruz now takes about half an hour through a bumpy unpaved road and costs $100 one way, instead of the original $40.
"It is not good at all for us," lamented Basil Malcolm, who has sought refuge in the Little Sinai Calvary Healing Temple along with 19 other residents.
Mr. Malcolm, 73, who lost the roof of his house during the hurricane, decided to stay in a small covered section but was forced to leave because of the rising waters.
"I've been here since Sunday (September 12) and I don't know when I can go home," he told The Sunday Gleaner during a tour of the area.
He said that food at the shelter is running low and there are no prospects of them receiving assistance soon. "No one has come to visit us here," he claimed.
However Yvonne Morrison, Disaster Preparedness Co-ordinator for the parish said "They have received food from the Red Cross and will continue doing so as long as they are in the shelter."
Ms. Morrison explained that along with the 19 persons at the Little Sinai church, there are three families living at a private house in the community. She added that her office will continue to monitor the situation and adapt to needs as they arise.
But if the situation appears bleak for Mr. Malcolm, it may be worse for Derrick Scott, who owned two large chicken farms in the community.
Mr. Scott said he has lost 4,500 chickens during Hurricane Ivan and the subsequent floods that followed.
"In terms of the dead chicken and lost production I suffered $3 million in damage," he said.
Mr. Scott cannot say when he is going to be back in full production. "It all depends of the cash flow," he noted.
The situation is the same for Rudolf Greene whose newly built chicken coop was completely destroyed by Ivan. "All the 103 zinc sheets I used to build the coop is gone and I lost about 1,200 chickens," he said.
He doesn't know when his farm is going to be back to normal again since the rising waters are posing a threat. "Plus I don't have the money," Mr. Green said.
HEALTH RISKS
Community leader, Kingsley Clarke, said that at least 16 houses in the community are completely surrounded by water and about 45 more are affected in one way or the other by the floods.
He expressed concerns that teams from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security are unable to access some sections of the community to do proper assessment of the damage suffered.
"The Defence Force should be assigned here because they have the special equipment to access flooded out areas," Mr. Clarke said.
He pointed out that there are health risks in the area since many pit toilets have been flooded out and animal waste is floating around.
"People have to disinfect themselves with bleach and alcohol after walking around in the water," he said. "And they have to be dealing with the mosquito nuisance. So there is a health risk."
Reinforcing the need to observe safety measures, Mr. Beharrie said that the residents should boil all water for domestic use or use bleach for purifying water for consumption.
