Adrian Frater, News Editor
Pipes being exposed along the damaged lower Sugar Mill Road in Ironshore, Montego Bay. Last Wednesday flood rains poured into the Second City causing hours of backed-up traffic as well as damage to sections of the Rose Hall main road. The Ritz-Carlton and Half Moon hotels also incurred damage due to the rains. - PHOTO BY CLAUDINE HOUSEN
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE 420-ROOM five-star Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall hotel, which was forced to close its doors after last Wednesday's flood rains in St. James, will remain close until May 19 to facilitate repairs.
"We are currently assessing the impact of water damage to key operation areas in the heart of the house," said Verona Carter, Ritz-Carlton's regional director of public relations, yesterday. "The areas include the laundry and housekeeping departments."
FORCED TO RELOCATE GUESTS
The hotel, which was forced to relocate guests affected by the flooding last week to hotels as far away as Ocho Rios, have since been redirecting reservations to other Ritz-Carlton resorts in the Caribbean and Miami.
And in a bid to get to the root cause of the flooding, which has affected the hotel for the second time in recent years, the resort's management has also flown in a crew of engineers.
While it has never been confirmed by engineers, persons from the community have observed that flooding at Rose Hall started following the development of a major golf course in the area. The flooding has also be affecting local fishermen.
"We never use to have flooding before they built the ... golf course on the hill," said Simon Thomas, a fisherman familiar with the previous and present conditions at Rose Hall. "We are now losing fish pots and nets whenever it rains. Somebody needs to get a good engineer to examine the problem."
Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association President, Godfrey Dyer told The Gleaner last Friday that urgent action was necessary to prevent a recurrence of the flooding.
"Ways must be found to control or divert the water. We need to put in corrective measures to prevent similar problems in the future," he said.
