THE EDITOR, Sir:
ON WEDNESDAY, November 16, the media brought us the frightening story of motorists trapped in the Bog Walk gorge and along the Junction road from the previous evening, the result of heavy rainfall which created flooding and land slippages.
Let me address the Bog Walk gorge situation as I reside just a few miles from the gorge and traverse its corridors at different intervals.
For the unenlightened, let me point out that the main threat to (and ironically the main natural attraction of) the gorge's roadway is the Rio Cobre that meanders alongside the road for several miles. This river gets much of its feed from the hills of St. Mary and St. Catherine, and carries its booty all the way to the sea at Passage Fort.
Now, it is easy to figure that once it is raining heavily in the vicinity of the gorge, the likelihood of flooding exists. However, this is not always the case, as was manifested on Tuesday. On that evening, motorists were going about their normal business without much concern about flooding but unknown to them, massive flood waters had been pouring down from the upper St. Catherine/St. Mary borders, which caused an almost instant flooding of the gorge. Many motorists, on sensing the impending danger, attempted to retrace their steps, but soon discovered that the areas behind them had also become flooded within the few minutes since their passage, thus leaving them marooned. Thankfully, no lives were lost.
Isn't it possible to install sensors at critical areas of the Rio Cobre, so that when the water reaches a certain level or swell these sensors would send a remote signal to some department of the Met office or the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) to warn of the situation? In addition to these sensors, large warning lights would be installed at either end of the gorge so that when the remote picks up a danger signal, the warning lights would continuously flash a message to motorists to stay clear of the area. The Met Office /ODPEM would simultaneously issue a communiqué to the media houses advising motorists of the danger. Naturally, such a system would require back-up power for obvious reasons. The installation of remote cameras in these areas would also be helpful in monitoring the condition.
Similar apparatus could also be installed upstream these dangerous fords, e.g. in the Sandy Gully, to warn unsuspecting motorists of potential danger. Naturally, not everyone will heed the warning but if it is one life that is saved, the investment would have been worth its while.
I am, etc.,
EDWARD A. MORRIS
Northern Caribbean University
Mandeville
