Flooding fears - Douglas Castle residents worry as anniversary of 2017 disaster approaches
Published:Friday | May 4, 2018 | 12:00 AMNadine Wilson-Harris
Seated on a stool at the entrance of a shop in Douglas Castle, St Ann, Jennifer Tucker could not disguise her fear as she watched the dark clouds in the sky while a light drizzle dampened the ground.
The rain triggers concerns for Tucker and her neighbours in the small rural community near the St Ann-Clarendon border. This year, the start of May magnifies their fears.
It was on May 15 last year that they woke to find their houses under water after just a few hours of rain.
"Right now the rain a fall and we have to a fret," Tucker told The Sunday Gleaner.
"Is one night the rain fall, only one night, and when we woke up the morning, the place flood out," added Tucker.
The residents lost livestock, crops, and household items as a result of the rain caused by a trough that lingered for a few days in the vicinity of the island.
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) later reported that more than 800 farmers in Douglas Castle were in need of assistance to transport their crops after being marooned.
"Mi bed did damage and my dresser was damaged, and most people things were damaged. My auntie's house was covered right up to the top and she lost everything," recounted Tucker.
"Food for the Poor gave us some mattress and we got a little help, but we didn't get any towards any building, or anything like that," she added.
Help came from multiple sources, with the St Ann Municipal Corporation providing relief supplies. The ODPEM provided a boat, and officials of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority distributed fertiliser.
The rural community was thrust into the spotlight as the media and state officials went to get a first-hand account of the devastation caused by the rain.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness was among those who visited the St Ann community as part of a tour of areas affected by flooding at the time.
Holness promised then that the Government would move to fast-track procedures to implement a master drainage plan for the island.
STANDSTILL
With their community inundated, residents had to take turns getting to their destinations in the one boat available, while enterprising farmers built rafts to transport their produce.
Florence Cameron said that the community came to a standstill as movement was curtailed for the most part.
"Mi live on the hillside, but when my kids them were to go to school, one boat couldn't help us out, so some of the times they didn't go. Some of the times, we had to stay home. We used the boat for about three weeks or four weeks straight," recalled Cameron.
She said that residents are uneasy now because the rain has started again, and nothing permanent was done to prevent a recurrence of the dreadful flooding.
"We want to know what is the vibes them have for us because we start to fret already because see, Cave Valley flood out already from the little rain that fall. Is not even out there the rain fall. is Mandeville water come down from," said Cameron.
"On Monday, is about five minutes the rain fall for and the place start to flood," a young man chimed in.
Some residents believe that a solution would be to relocate the road or to construct an overhead bridge, while others believe that the proper maintenance of the drainage system would suffice.
"If they don't fix the drain, we are going to have the blockage again," said Tucker.
"All they do when they send them to clean the drain them is that them just shovel out the dirt, and the dirt that they put one side with the rubbish go back down in the drain," Tucker charged.