Omar Anderson, Gleaner Writer
Residents of the Dam Head community outside Spanish Town walk along the eroded main road yesterday. - RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
THE FAMILIAR stories of houses being flooded on Riverside Drive in St. Andrew surfaced again yesterday from the mud and grime that have made life hell for New Haven residents.
Many homeowners were marooned, some wading through waist-high flood waters from Hurricane Wilma, which quickly descended upon them Sunday and Monday.
Improvisation was the order of the day as persons were forced to use large pieces of foam to raft through the water.
Errol Rattray, 49, bravely drove his vehicle through the waters yesterday, just in case, he said, he needed to evacuate from New Haven with his two young daughters.
"Is jus' pure flooding," he told The Gleaner. "Some people lose dem animals, some people bed wet up, some doors swell an' caan shut."
According to Mr. Rattray, the water had receded by at least six inches yesterday, but still was still deep enough to annoy pedestrians.
"Ordinarily, it (water) would ah go down ahready but it seems we have a blockage at the Six Miles bridge," Mr. Rattray said.
Others shared his observation, claiming that lands adjacent to the community were dredged a few years ago, causing rainwater to constantly settle in their community.
DRAINS OVERWHELMED
Some also attribute the constant flooding to faulty engineering.
"The water overwhelmed the drains because they are too small, and then the Duhaney River came down." said one resident who did not want to be named.
As The Gleaner team was about to leave, 18-year-old Dale Hill, who lives on Duhaney Terrace, was seen boating through the murky water.
He seemed to know what good customer service meant! Dale rowed a makeshift raft to deliver an LPG cylinder from his parents' business to a nearby customer.
"I help out other people on the raft too," he said, smiling. He said the raft was built months ago, primarily for circumstances like yesterday's.
