Beryl lashes Troy, Friendship
Published:Thursday | July 4, 2024 | 12:08 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Some of Trelawny’s rural communities have taken a battering from the heavy winds and rain associated with Hurricane Beryl.
Residents of Troy lamented the loss of several banana trees and other crops.
“There is heavy rain and a lot of wind, although there is no flooding as yet because the rain did not start until after noon. There were a lot of trees and crops devastated, banana trees and all of that, and even some roofs were taken also,” said Pauline Brown, a resident of the community and the principal of the community’s Clarence Brimm Basic School.
Kenisha Robinson-Smith, the acting vice-principal of Troy Primary School, which is used as an emergency shelter, noted that at least two people contacted the school to take shelter there.
“Two persons called the principal and they were expected there ... . There is concern about potential flooding, but we just have to play it safe for right now,” Robinson-Smith remarked.
The concern about flooding in Troy comes from previous worries that the banks of the Hectors River, which the former Troy bridge spanned to connect the constituencies of Trelawny Southern and Manchester North Western, widen whenever it rains heavily.
Residents on both sides of the river have been using a makeshift bridge to get from one side to the other, ever since the former Troy bridge’s collapse following the passage of Tropical Storm Grace in 2021. However, the makeshift bridge’s stability is a cause for concern due to fears that it may collapse if the river’s rushing waters rise high enough during inclement weather.
Troy is not the only community with concerns about fallen trees or issues with flooding, as there are worries the Friendship community could be marooned if the roadway to neighbouring Wakefield is inundated.
Janel Ricketts, community relations officer for the National Works Agency’s western regional office, said that the issues in Trelawny will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis after Beryl’s passage.
“It is a developing situation, a moving situation, as the weather is still on, but we have our emergency teams on standby to address the community issues,” Ricketts said briefly.
The Meteorological Service projected that Hurricane Beryl would dump four to six inches of rain while passing Jamaica.