JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
This house in the Nightingale Grove area of Old Harbour, St. Catherine, was under several feet of water yesterday, following the passage of Hurricane Dennis Thursday.
Dionne Rose
Staff Reporter
More than 80 residents of Nightingale Grove, near Bushy Park in St. Catherine were completely flooded out as water from the Spring Gardens River rushed through their houses Wednesday night.
Millie Hibbert's worst fears were realised when the nearby river overflowed its banks, bursting into her house shortly after nine Wednesday night.
"Nine o'clock last night it come, nine o'clock me sit up whole night a bale water," said Ms. Hibbert.
The river had overflowed its banks because of heavy rains caused by Hurricane Dennis.
According to Ms. Hibbert, for the past 22 years the community has had consistent problems with flooding as the river, which is just behind the community often overflows its banks and floods the houses.
"We always have water (coming into the houses)," she said. She added that: "Every year we haffi buy furniture, every year we haffi dash weh dis and dash weh that. We can't tek it no more." Meanwhile, Danville Siddo her neighbour told a similar story. "Water come right up to the (light) switch and it trap us whole night in the house. We couldn't come out. We had to stay there until this morning when it (the river) draw," he said.
Mr. Siddo said that he had built a wall at the back of his house to prevent the water from coming in, but even that could not hold the water.
"Over the years we have problem, but nobody responded to us. So we under pressure," he said.
The residents pointed out that the developer and the Government should have known that it was not a safe place to build the houses.
The residents of Nightingale Grove said that they would be willing to relocate but needed assistance to do so.
