Many East Rural St Andrew residents counting their luck

Despite experiencing several landslides, downed trees and light wires and losing cell phone connectivity from the impact of Hurricane Beryl, residents in some communities in East Rural St Andrew are breathing a sigh of relief that the storm did not do as much damage as they had anticipated.

“Where we live, if normal rain fall a day or two, we would be worried, or if there is some forecast where the rain is coming, we would be worried or have some sort of concern,” Adrian Lynch, a resident in Gordon Town, St Andrew, said in expressing his gratitude.

Lynch noted that besides the landslides which residents have become accustomed to when it rains, most people in the community had weathered the storm fairly well as there was minimal damage to houses.

A number of them were observed cleaning away landslides and fallen trees from the roadway that the Category 4 hurricane left behind.

While the board structure house in which she resides in Savage Pen did not receive any damage during the passage of Hurricane Beryl, Nasstacia Blake told The Gleaner that she spent the earlier part of yesterday morning clearing away mud from a small landslide that had washed into her yard.

According to her, her home is now at risk of being submerged under a landslide and flooded out since the construction of the $60-million alternative route to Gordon Town main road four years ago.

The route was built after a major landslide caused by tropical storms in October and November 2020 resulted in a major breakaway along the main road.

But Blake said no drainage system accompanied the construction of the road and, as a result, water has now been channelled into her home.

“They build the road without proper drains, and you know once water don’t have a channel, it builds one,” she said.

She said she has consistently made this issue known to political representatives in the area, but is yet to see any action being taken.

“We tiad a talk, tiad a mek dem aware, tiad of saying this is the situation,” she said.

Member of Parliament for East Rural St Andrew, Juliet Holness, was in the area assessing the damage to the constituency on Wednesday.

“It could be worse, I am very grateful. This is better than our worst fears,” she said.

The landslides and fallen trees marooned residents in the communities of Halls Delight, Westphalia, and Tower Hill. Holness noted that these communities are her first priority and that they should regain access in two days.

“Many persons are confused by observing the NWA (National Works Agency) coming through and clearing only one side of the road, very often the landslides are needed to prevent further erosion so sometimes they are held there to allow the earth which was saturated to drain the water and become solid and then you can move that other half,” she said.

Meanwhile, councillor for the Mavis Bank division, Lloyd Benjamin, noted that tractors have since been on the road clearing fallen trees and landslides.

However, he lamented the destruction experienced by farmers of some communities in the division.

“Severe damage has been done to crops and livestock. Assured by tomorrow RADA (Rural Agricultural Development Authority) will be out in the field assessing the damage. This is a major coffee area as well, so we’d have to look and see what damage has been done to the coffee sector as well,” he said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com