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Heavy rains expected to continue this weekend

Published:Friday | May 19, 2017 | 12:00 AM
Ian Allen
Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his team look at a makeshift raft that residents use to get across floodwaters in the Douglas Castle community in Clarendon. On Wednesday, Holness and a team, including Minister of Labour and Social Security Shahine Robinson, as well as representatives from a number of relevant government agencies, toured several communities across Jamaica that were most affected by heavy rains that have been pelting the island since last Saturday.

The Meteorological Service has continued the flash flood watch for low-lying and flood-prone areas of all parishes until this morning.

According to the Met Office, weather conditions across the island will remain unstable as the trough persists in the vicinity of Jamaica.

It said satellite imagery and radar reports indicate that light to moderate showers affected sections of most parishes throughout yesterday, and that showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue affecting sections of most parishes over the weekend.

The Met Office said a flash flooding is, therefore, still possible over some low-lying and flood-prone areas of Jamaica.

Since last week Saturday, the trough across the central Caribbean has been influencing weather conditions across the island, causing severe flooding in numerous communities.

Several persons have been left homeless, as their homes, mostly located near river banks, were flooded out or destroyed. There was also significant damage to many roads and infrastructure, as well as to the agricultural sector.