Trapped by floodwaters

Torrential rains on Tuesday night triggered a flood of renewed complaints as a 36-foot deep pond overflowed its banks and inundated roads, heaping misery on residents of East Avenue in Linstead, St Catherine.

Their frustration was evident when The Gleaner visited the area yesterday as many homeowners said they had grown weary from the decades of cries for improved infrastructure.

Eighty-two-year-old Maylyn Allen has seen the worst of the flooded streets over the many decades.

Recalling the floodwaters crashing into her home in 1979, she said that all her possessions were destroyed and she, her husband, and two children had to start over life on higher ground.

Allen, who now lives with her 84-year-old brother as her husband died in 2001, said that on some days, she is left trapped in her home without a route to get into the Linstead Square for much-needed supplies.

“Whenever the rain fall, we trap up here and we can’t come out and we nuh have nowhere else fi go. We just haffi stay a we yard and suffer!” she exclaimed.

And although Tuesday’s rains weren’t as bad as those of previous times, the submerged roadway made it impossible for her to venture out without fears of being injured.

“Right now, I’m just here by the grace of God ... . Me nuh have nowhere fi walk. Me just deh yah siddung, and me just a pray and beg God fi nuh mek no [more] rain fall,” she said, with a longing for the area to receive some attention from the authorities.

Godfrey Palmer, who lives next door to Allen, has been a resident in the community for more than seven years and lives in front of the flood-prone area.

He told The Gleaner on Wednesday that he has had to walk through his neighbours’ backyards and take a different route to get to the town square from his house.

“It stay good deh now,” he said, as the water had begun receding. “Sometime it block fi all couple day well [and] nothing cyah pass ya.”

Garfield Mortley said flooding has been an issue since he was a child attending Linstead Primary, and he recalled days when he had to use the local play field as a shortcut to get home – a path he still uses today.

Impossible task

For years, residents have been lobbying for the road to be raised or for a bridge to be built, bringing their concerns before their councillor numerous times.

Herbert Garriques, who represents the Linstead Division, which also falls in the St Catherine North Western constituency represented by Member of Parliament Hugh Graham, told The Gleaner that he was aware of the situation and had raised the matter several times at council sessions.

But with an annual budget of $400,000 from the municipal corporation for drainage maintenance, it has been an impossible task for Garriques to keep up with the 34 ponds, drains, and sink holes located in his division alone.

Garriques noted that the sink hole located across the road from the pond is also in need of maintenance, having last been cleaned in 2018. He argued that the sink holes, especially the one in question, must be cleaned at least twice a year to provide effective drainage during periods of heavy and prolonged rainfall.

With additional drains and ponds to manage, Garriques noted that the drains in the Banbury district and at Grove Road, which cost no less than $120,000 and $100,000, respectively, swallow up the lion’s share of the funds allocated for maintenance.

He added that an estimate was commissioned in light of a recommendation for the construction of a bridge due to a dip in the road, but at $30 million, budgetary constraints have resulted in the shelving of any immediate plans for such a project, which has been deemed infeasible.

“It’s really tough. When I tell you it tough, it tough,” he said.

“It cannot be that each year you come here and you quarrel and quarrel [and] a the same $400,000 [gets allocated],” he said of his efforts, admitting that the situation could not be rectified any time soon.

Because the pond overflows each time there is a heavy downpour, the road surface has also been eroded over time, presenting an additional issue to address.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com