Ghosts of hurricanes past haunt Old Harbour Bay
Published:Saturday | June 5, 2021 | 12:06 AMRasbert Turner/Gleaner Writer
A bit of apprehension hangs over Old Harbour Bay in St Catherine as residents keep their fingers crossed that no significant weather system will affect the area during the hurricane season.
“We in these parts suffer a great deal as we are at the mouth of the sea. We have seen every boat here swept to the crossing about 400 metres from here. So when it hits, it creates problems,” Daniel Byrd recalled of past storms in the predominantly fishing community along the south coast.
Resident and businesswoman Omeisha Banton remembers vividly the devastation as Hurricane Dean pounded the island in 2007.
“I can still hear the voice of my mother shouting, ‘Omeisha, you don’t see that water take over the place!’, as I look down and realise dat the bed that I occupied was afloat inside the house,” she said.
During the frightening ordeal, cold and trembling with fear, she jumped off the bed into several feet of murky water.
“I was covered to my bosom in water. I don’t want to experience another disaster like that again, but we leave it in the hands of God,” Banton said.
Active Hurricane Season expected
The United States-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season will have an above-normal number of named storms. The season, which began on June 1 and runs until November 30, is predicted to have 13 to 20 named storms.
Resident Elaine Bowers believes that several drains in the area should be cleaned in preparation for any eventuality.
The National Works Agency has been given $100 million to carry out flood-mitigation works across the island.
“The thing mi don’t like is to evacuate from mi yard inna shelter, especially now dat we have the COVID-19 pandemic. We can’t have no social distance a shelter,” Bowers said.
The residents would like to have some sensitisation sessions with the relevant authorities on the work being done and how to cope in the event that disaster strikes.
Councillor Roogae Kirlew, chairman of the St Catherine Disaster Planning, Management and Safety Committee, said there are plans afoot to sensitise residents, especially those in Old Harbour Bay and Sunnyside in Linstead.
“At our last meeting, we were at 83 per cent readiness in St Catherine and we continue to work to improve on our 60 shelters, through continued collaboration with other stakeholders,” Kirlew said.