MOST RESIDENTS in the devastated seaside town of Portland Cottage in south-east Clarendon were literally still picking up the pieces of their shattered lives on Friday, when The Gleaner visited the area.
Although the Government had issued a stop order against the resumption of construction of homes there, few persons were aware of Land and Environment Minister Dean Peart's action. His move followed a statement on Tuesday by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, who declared that people in communities like Portland Cottage which have a record of being savaged by heavy rains would be relocated as Government could not afford the cost of continually reconstructing such disaster-prone communities.
When The Gleaner visited Portland Cottage on Thursday, some residents spoke defiantly against the relocation order. But, on Friday, the defiance had wilted.
POSSESSIONS
"Me willing to move," said 31-year-old Ezroy 'Zaro' Gayle. He said the location would have to be on higher ground in a house equivalent to the one he would be giving up. Mr. Gayle lost most of his possessions when the zinc roof of his two-bedroom home was ripped off two weeks ago by Hurricane Ivan.
A suitable location was also critical to Trevor Purville for moving his wife and three children. Standing on the porch of what was left of their two-bedroom home, the burly Mr. Purville said he was unwilling to put his family through another natural disaster.
"Older heads say ah the first them ever see anything like this," he told The Gleaner. As long as the community got a better location, he said, "We willing to go."
Ravaged homes and churches and toppled utility poles showed the impact Ivan, a category four hurricane, had on Portland Cottage. The area also suffered extensive flooding, which claimed the lives of eight persons, including three children.
