Robert Lalah, Staff Reporter
This house, located along the Gutters main road in St. Elizabeth, is threatened by raging waters created by the
passage of Hurricane Emily yesterday. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
THE DANGEROUS Category Four Hurricane Emily which was charging toward the island late last week, took a sudden dip at the eleventh hour yesterday and veered slightly south, sparing the country a direct hit - but not without first pelting the 14 parishes with torrential rains and strong winds.
The rains and winds associated with the hurricane lashed the island with tremendous force, with southern parishes receiving the brunt of the hurricane's weighty wallop.
By mid-afternoon, Hurricane Emily was about 165 kilometres (105 miles) south of Black River, St. Elizabeth, and the fast-moving flood waters in that parish were evidence of the storm's extensive force. There were reports of serious flooding in Holland, Maggoty and the New River area, with five families in shelters in the parish. Meanwhile, 13 fishermen from St. Elizabeth were reported to have been marooned on the Pedro Cays when the rains and winds hit. Reports of serious flooding also surfaced from parts of Clarendon, St. Ann, Tre-lawny, Mandeville, Westmore-land and Portland. In St. Thomas, a landslide reduced the Roselle main road to single-lane traffic.
The passage of Hurricane Emily was not without incident, as a fight broke out at the Seaforth High School shelter in St. Thomas resulting in two persons being injured and hospitalised. According to the Minister of Land and Environ-ment, Dean Peart, there were no Major disruptions in water supplies However, the Jamaica Public Service has expressed concerns about the high gusts of wind that have been affecting power lines.
Flooding in Annotto Bay, St. Mary, forced several hundred residents to take refuge at the Annotto Bay All-Age School.
The school was overcrowded and efforts were made to transfer some persons to shelter at the nearby Annotto Bay courthouse.
But, Mayor of Port Maria, Bobby Montaque said he was unable to get the courthouse to be used as a shelter.
The community of Wakefield, Trelawny was cut off and Moorefield and Hampden were impassable.
Other areas flooded were Jones Hole in Duanvale, the main roads into Samuel Prospect, Jackson Town and Bottom Town in Clark's Town
According to disaster coordinator for the parish Dion Hylton 100 persons had to seek shelter elsewhere. Some persons in Bunkers Hill were flooded and had to stay at the Unity Primary school. She noted that the entire Falmouth Infirmary population of 67 persons stayed at the William Knibb High School.
At press time, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) said there were 2,296 persons in 56 shelters across the island. The ODPEM's director of research and training, Nadine Newsome, was however quick to point out that the number was all the time increasing. She noted that residents were being evacuated from the Clarke's Town area of Trelawny, even as she spoke with The Sunday Gleaner.
Across Kingston and St. Catherine, strong gusts of wind caused several power lines to snap, igniting the sky with a dazzling display of blue that rivalled the show being put on by the incessant flashes of lightning associated with the storm. Residents in the Hellshire area reported losing electricity at their homes because a number of poles had been toppled by the high winds. However, up to press time the number of residents without electricity was still unknown. The Norman Manley airport remained close yesterday as the Palisadoes Road was flooded and made further impassable with debris. At least one supermarket in the corporate area, braved the weather and opened its doors yesterday. Operators of the Loshusan supermarket in Barbican, St. Andrew. "We had to pick up our workers and some took taxis, not all turned up, a lot of shoppers did not turn up, because most shopped yesterday." said owner and manager Ken Loshusan.
