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St. James and Trelawny not Spared

September 30, 2010

The Full Story

Heavy rains associated with Tropical Storm Nicole have severely affected main roads, bridges and buildings in the parishes of St. James and Trelawny.
In St. James, the Barnett River overflowed its banks and caused flooding along the Fairfield, Alice Eldemire and Tucker main roads and sections of Catherine Hall and Westgate areas. A number of businesses, including gas stations and supermarkets across Montego Bay, were also affected.
Communities, such as Granville, Pitfour, Tucker, Retirement, John’s Hall, Spring Mount, Spring Field and Maroon Town were completely cut off as a result of heavy land slippages and destruction of roadways and bridges.

A section of the John’s Hall Main road in southern St. James that was impassable as a result of a massive land slippage on (September 29). Heavy rains associated with Hurricane Nicole lashed sections of Western Jamaica.

Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Charles Sinclair, and a team from the St. James Parish Council toured some of the affected areas, on (September 30).
“We have seen much flooding and damage to road surfaces throughout the parish, as well as several persons being marooned in their communities, especially in the southern St. James areas. The National Works Agency (NWA) personnel were out in their numbers cleaning up blocked roads and removing heavy debris, to allow persons and motorists to move about,” he said.
“One shelter was opened (at Granville), accommodating some 20 persons who were seriously affected. When we checked this morning, most had returned to their homes, with about six persons still in the shelter,” Mayor Sinclair told JIS News.
In Trelawny, several houses located in low lying and flood prone areas experienced flooding, and roadways and crops damaged by the heavy rains. Areas such as Warsop, Troy, Wait-A-Bit, Martha Brae, Wakefield, Zion, Granville, Falmouth, Holland, Hyde, Clarks Town and Jackson Town and adjoining communities were some of the areas most impacted by the heavy rains.

Sections of the John’s Hall main road, which has been extensively damaged by flood waters.

Disaster Preparedness Co-ordinator for the parish, Deon Hylton-Lewis, told JIS News that many agricultural crops and livestock across the entire parish were affected by flooding.
“Several areas in Trelawny were without electricity for hours, but the Jamaica Public Service Company’s Emergency Operation Centre was activated early and electricity restored to affected areas. Roads, including the Martha Brae to Granville main road, was impassable due to flood waters. Sections of the town of Falmouth were not spared from flooding, which affected most of the streets. The report received today (September 30), indicates that three persons who were accommodated in a shelter in Zion, have returned to their dwelling house,” Mrs. Hylton-Lewis told JIS News.
The Co-ordinator said that assessments are still being done by the Trelawny Parish Council, and urged residents to continue to be vigilant in protecting themselves and their property.

Last Updated: August 13, 2013

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