HEAVY RAINS generated by an area of low pressure south-east of Jamaica battered the island yesterday, flooding communities and cutting off roads as the Meteorological Service issued a flash flood watch for all parishes.
One man drowned in St. Thomas while the Jamaica Defence Force conducted rescues by helicopter in Windsor, Portland.
Pockets of flash flooding were reported in several areas of St. Catherine where residents had to resort to bailing out water from their homes and yards.
Reports are that William Martin and his common law wife were attempting to cross a gully in Stewart Field in Seaforth, St. Thomas, when they were swept away by flood waters.
"The reports are still a bit sketchy, but they were washed away. Residents managed to save the woman but the man drowned," Ronald Jackson, acting deputy director of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), said yesterday.
JDF TO THE RESCUE
He added that "the Jamaica Defence Force rescued three men, aged between 20 and 30, in Windsor. One of the men had been out doing chores - untethering an animal, when he became stranded and had to be rescued by helicopter."
Reports from rural correspondent Gareth Davis are that rainfall forced the abandonment of the second shift at the Port Antonio Primary School, and that several roads in the Rio Grande Valley were blocked.
Meanwhile, one house collapsed in Job Lane, Spanish Town, St. Catherine. No one was injured during the incident.
COMMUNITIES UNDER WATER
Gleaner correspondent Rasbert Turner, who roved affected areas of the parish yesterday, reported that several sections of Nightingale Grove, sections of Hartlands, Fair View Park, and the Old Harbour Road roundabout were inundated. Several motor cars stalled in flood waters in the vicinity of Old Harbour, while several sections of the Dunbeholden main road were flooded, causing traffic jams.
The forecast from the Met Service calls for more outbreaks of heavy showers and thunderstorms that would continue to affect the island from last night into today. Fishers and other marine interests are urged to exercise caution due to gusty winds and deteriorating sea conditions in the vicinity of showers and thunderstorms.
