Runaway Bay Drainage System To Improve

Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, says that steps will be taken to improve the drainage system along the Runaway Bay main road in St. Ann to prevent further flooding.

He was speaking on Wednesday (February 9) following a tour of sections of Portland, St. Mary, and St. Ann, that were affected by recent heavy rains.

Runaway Bay square was inundated for several hours following the rainfall.

Speaking with journalists, Minister McKenzie noted that the area has been affected by flooding over the years, following heavy rainfall, and assured that measures will be put in place to alleviate the problem.

Noting that the clogging of the waterways with garbage has contributed to the flooding, the Minister called on residents to take greater responsibility for protecting the environment.

“When I look in some of the gullies and drains…we are seeing where people dump old refrigerator and old cars,” the Minister said.

“There’s a role for the citizens to play and people must now understand that Jamaica is no longer a country that you rely on getting rain at a set point during the year because climate change has put an end to all of that,” he added.

Meanwhile, Senior Director for Project Implementation at the National Works Agency (NWA), Varden Downer, said that the agency will be expanding the drains at Runaway Bay square to better accommodate the volume of water during heavy down pours.

“We are going to look and see how much we can open these [drains] to allow the flood waters to drain away,” he said.