Some of the houses under construction in Portland Cottage, Clarendon, last Thursday. The area was ravaged by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004. - NORMAN GRINDLEY/DEPUTY CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
IT'S BEEN more than 19 months since Hurricane Ivan barrelled across Jamaica, wreaking havoc and leaving the lives of thousands in shambles.
Perhaps nowhere was the blow of the hurricane felt more than in Portland Cottage, south-east Clarendon. When the sky had cleared, residents found that eight of their own had been killed.
Just over two weeks before the start of the Atlantic hurricane season, which has been forecast to be very active, residents are getting anxious, but most refuse to adhere to warnings to leave the area for safer ground.
ALL TOO VIVID
Last Thursday when The Gleaner visited Portland Cottage, the damage caused by the hurricane was still evident. Houses were still without roofs and pieces of damaged furniture were still strewn about. Trees were still bent to the ground and walls marked by water lines.
The news team met 54-year-old Veronica Stevenson while she was washing clothes on the verandah of her home. Her memory of the events of Hurricane Ivan was all too vivid.
"The hurricane cause a big tidal wave to come over from the sea. By the time the people see the wave coming, no time was there to get away. We just have to grab our pickney dem and climb on to the roof. That is how we survive," the woman said.
Mrs. Stevenson, her two daughters and her infant granddaughter spent hours on the roof of their home as the rain continued to pound the community.
"All we could see was other people on their roofs. The water covered everything. It wash away car, animal and everything," the woman recalled.
So why stay?
STILL HOME
"I born and grow right here. Everything I work for is right here. I can't pick up myself and just leave everything I have just so," Mrs. Stevenson said emphatically. "People will say mi fool, but dem nuh understand what it is."
The Government has partnered with the United States Agency for International Development to build a new housing scheme in Portland Cottage. The new homes are being specifically constructed to relocate the residents from the area devastated by the hurricane, which hit the island on September 10, 2004.
The houses are being built in an area deemed less prone to flooding. Construction is now in its final stages, but residents with whom the news team spoke were not planning on moving anytime soon.
