Nagra Plunkett & Claudine Housen, Staff Reporters
WESTERN BUREAU:
TOUR OPERATORS in western Jamaica are counting their losses as the Carnival Conquest cruise ship has cancelled its weekly call to Montego Bay because of inclement weather triggered by Hurricane Wilma.
"The ship was slated to bring 3,500 passengers to the city and they would in turn participate in tours and do their shopping," Horace Peterkin, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, told The Gleaner yesterday.
Jamaica has been experiencing heavy showers since Friday, resulting in landslides in St. James, Westmoreland and Trelawny.
Mr. Peterkin said that hotel officials are now forced to increase indoor activities as a result of the fallout in tours.
"Visitors would go as far as YS Falls and the Black River Safari in St. Elizabeth, but the worst affected area is on the south coast and road access has diminished," he added.
It was business as usual for much of western Jamaica, though, as the rainfall failed to keep most commuters indoors. Schools in the region remained closed, however,
Reports from the National Works Agency cited landslides in the Bethel Town to Lambs River area in Westmoreland, the Stettin to Highgate Hall in Trelawny, as well as damage to Riley and Bush Mount roads in Hanover.
In the flood-prone community of Zion in Falmouth, there were no signs of flooding. However, residents were keeping a close watch as more rain is likely to pelt the island over the next 24 hours.
