Several families in Kingston, St. Catherine and St. Thomas have been flooded out following persistent showers across the island since last Saturday. The rains have also triggered landslides and have caused damage to the road network.
Stephen Shaw, communications manager at the National Works Agency (NWA), told The Gleaner yesterday that a damage assessment would be forthcoming as soon as the rains had subsided.
"We have not done any damage assessment yet, but after the rains we will be able to say how much the roads have been affected," Mr. Shaw said.
Unstable weather conditions have been influencing rainfall throughout the island since Saturday, forcing the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) to issue a flash flood warning for low-lying and flood-prone areas islandwide.
Schools closed
Yesterday, several schools were forced to close their doors and many persons did not turn up for work.
Also, traffic flow across the island was reduced to pedestrian pace in many places, because of flooding and poor road conditions.
The 10-kilometre journey from Portmore, St. Catherine to downtown Kingston, via the Portmore leg of Highway 2000, lasted more than three hours for many motorists yesterday. Persons who got stuck in the grid told The Gleaner the flooded roadways caused traffic to back up as far as the toll road.
Mr. Shaw blamed flooding in sections of the Corporate Area on the "refusal of persons to desist from dumping garbage in drains".
Mr. Shaw said that many drains which were recently cleaned could not accommodate the water because of the garbage.
The Gleaner noticed heaps of debris believed to be leftovers from the passage of Hurricane Dean in August were beside the many drains.
Meanwhile, ODPEM reported landslides in the St. Thomas hills of Hagley Gap, Penlyne Castle, Riverhead and Goatridge.
Flooding was also reported in Albion, St. Thomas; Marcus Garvey Drive and Chisholm Avenue in Kingston; Patrick Street in Old Harbour Bay, St. Catherine, as well as the Hartland and Hillrun main roads in the parish.
