Kennedy Grove residents face the woes of rising water yet again. - photo by Dwight Nelson

SANDY BAY, Clarendon:

Residents of the water-logged Kennedy Grove community in Clarendon are now fearing the worst if the rains affecting the island should continue for another day.

This, as forecasters predicted more unstable weather for at least the next 24 hours.

When The Gleaner arrived at Kennedy Grove yesterday morning, at least six homes were engulfed by water from the Kennedy Grove pond.

One Resident, wishing to remain anonymous, said she was worried that if the rain continued she, along with her neighbours, might face a repeat of their October 2005 woes when they were marooned for days.

She also mentioned that the water contains sewage and with the present dengue outbreak, health concerns have come to the table.

She said she had been living in Kennedy Grove since 2002 and there had been approximately eight occasions of flooding.

"Me having a headache now," she exclaimed.

Attempts to contact Kennedy Grove's developer have so far proved futile.

Kennedy Grove is a development of over 200 homes, which were completed in 1999 as a joint venture between now defunct KID Developers and the Ministry of Housing.

- Dwight Nelson

Flooding halts business in Black River

ST. ELIZABETH:

Following the prolonged rains affecting sections of the island, several roads were impassable in St. Elizabeth, forcing motorists to us routes to access major towns such as Black River and Santa Cruz.

Giving an update on the status of some of the roads in the parish, Stephen Shaw of the National Works Agency, said the Middle Quarters main road was inundated and th road is Craige; the road at Launa was also impassable and the road leading towards Mountainside was under heavy waters.

The same held true for the Bigwoods main road and the areas surrounding it. The Dollentoba, New Holland and Holland Bamboo main roads were also flooded.

Disaster preparedness coordinator for the parish, Yvonne Morrison, said all the emergency shelter managers had been put on stand-by.

Until press time no reports of homes flooding had been made.

However, all the major streets in Black River were covered with water and for hours business was at a standstill in the parish capital.

- Rayon Dyer

St Thomas residents still stuck

Muriel Alcott and her son were the only tenants at the Frome Technical High School, yesterday. They had to leave their Ricketts River home to seek refuge at the school due to rising waters associated with inclement weather and the nearby Cabaritta River. - photo by Dalton Laing

YALLAHS, St. Thomas:

Several residents of St. Thomas were marooned in Bull Bay on Thursday night due to rising floodwaters at two fords in the community, while others had to travel an extra seven miles to Kingston yesterday.

Some residents, such as Pamela Jones, who works at a government office in the Corporate Area, did not bother to venture out to work yesterday.

Rains affecting the island for the past week have dislocated several residents of the parish.

Some 31 residents of Spring Pass in Yallahs, were being housed at the Yallahs New Testament Church of God, until Thursday.

Shelter manager, Paulette Bernard-Taylor told The Gleaner yesterday, the residents had to return to their muddy homes as they were only given until yesterday at the church.

At the same time, National Works Agency personnel were clearing blocked roads from Llandewey to Cambridge Hill in the parish. That route is used as a to the ford at Mahoganyvale, which was also impassable yesterday.

- Shelly-Ann Thompson

West pelted, but standing strong

WESTMORELAND:

Several sections of Westmoreland remained under water yesterday.

As a result, several residents are now on the watch or moving to safer areas.

Some of the areas severely affected are Llandilo Phase 6, Carawena, McNeill Land, Little London, Ricketts River, Lower Hudson Street and Cooke Street.

Parish coordinator, Hilma Tate, is however, reporting that as soon as the rain gives a break the water runs off easily, which she says is as a result of the extensive drain cleaning programme that was done ahead of the hurricane season.

The Frome Technical High School is the only shelter in the parish that was occupied, with a woman, Muriel Alcott, and her son being the only tenants.

There were also reports of the Sugar Company of Jamaica Frome division evacuating persons to safer ground.

- Dalton Laing

Vehicles trapped in the gorge

SPANISH TOWN, St. Catherine:

Several motor vehicles were trapped in the Bog Walk Gorge up to yesterday morning, after motorists refused to heed warnings not to attempt passage.

More than 200 persons were rescued by the Jamaica Defence Force's air wing that worked all through Thursday night to take them to safety.

When The Gleaner news team visited the area on Friday morning, persons who witnessed what happened expressed relief there was no loss of life.

"It's a long time now mi live roun' here, and it is the first time that I ever see so much water and I know that it is not yet done as water is still coming over," said a woman known only as Bubbla, as she watched persons moving sand from the road.

Over in Old Harbour, there were also blocked roads, as the big pond had overflowed.

However, when The Gleaner went into the Old Harbour Bay Community, only two residents were seen at the shelter. They complained about a shortage of food.

Along the Bodles main road in the vicinity of Port Esquivel, a large body of water brought traffic to a standstill.

In the Hill Run area and in the Hartlands community, the story of flooding was the same.

- Rasbert Turner

More communities continue to flood

HANOVER:

Persistent showers over the last two days have affected some unplanned communities in the parish of Hanover.

According to parish disaster preparedness coordinator of the Hanover Parish Council, Olga Faye Headley, the communities of Pearces Village, Chigwell and Forrest in eastern Hanover have started to experience rising waters.

The three communities suffer from serious flooding whenever the aquifer in the community becomes saturated from continuous rainfall.

Ms. Headley said there had been some minor land slippage in several communities, but these had been cleared by the roads and works department of the Hanover Parish Council and the National Works Agency.

"There is a large land slippage at Middlesex, and this poses a threat to a house that houses a family of four. They have moved out of the house and are staying with friends as no public shelters are open at this time," said Ms. Headley.

- Claudia Gardner