Gareth Davis, Gleaner Writer
Residents view a section of the Seaforth to Serge Island main road in St. Thomas which was washed away after Hurricane Dennis changed the course of the Negro River. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
PRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson toured the ravaged Rio Grande Valley yesterday, getting a first-hand look at the devastation dealt to Portland's largest farming village by Hurricane Dennis last week. He also viewed the damage to the region's rafting, one of the parish's premier tourist attractions.
"I just had to view things for myself," said Mr. Patterson. "Now that I have done that, we now have to make the decision to address the most critical areas, and the first step would be to clear and repair the roadways".
The Prime Minister was accompanied by State Minister for Transport and Works, Dr. Fenton Ferguson, and Member of Parliament of East Portland, Dr. Donald Rhodd.
ROADWAY DESTROYED
More than six kilometres of roadway in the Rio Grande Valley was devastated as a result of flood waters from the nearby Rio Grande . More than 70 acres of banana trees, plantain, coffee and other produce were also destroyed by rushing water from the river.
In May, the first set of bananas for export was prepared four months after Hurricane Ivan struck down Jamaica's banana industry. Farmers in the Rio Grande Valley are at a loss as to what steps will be taken to revive their devastated crop.
While agriculture has been dealt a body blow, another fragile industry, that of rafting, has also suffered. The entire fleet and cargo belonging to over 125 raftsmen assigned to the industry were swept away by the Rio Grande waters Friday night.
SPECIAL ATTENTION
The Prime Minister hinted that special attention will be given to the raftsmen. He indicated that the Government has always provided assistance to Rio Grande rafting and that this time around things will be no different.
"It is obvious that operations at Rio Grande rafting will be on hold for a while. Nevertheless, plans will be put in place to get this attraction site up and running, and also some assistance will be given to the raftsmen," Mr. Patterson said.
He noted that Portland is in dire need of petrol as service stations have already used up reserves. He said that a road will have to be cleared, possibly in St. Thomas, to allow for delivery of gasolene to Portland.
The parish has been virtually cut off since Friday following the collapse of the St. Margaret's Bay bridge due to flooding.
