Gareth Davis, Gleaner Writer
Port Antonio, Portland:
More than 2,000 residents were marooned in Cascade, Portland, yesterday evening, after a section of the main road leading from Wakefield to Hardwar Gap became impassable due to a landslide.
The collapse of the roadway affected hundreds of farmers, tourism interests and others, who were unable to reach Buff Bay.
Disaster area
Member of Parliament for West Portland, Daryl Vaz, told The Gleaner that he would be asking Prime Minister Bruce Golding to have the affected community declared a disaster area.
"This has reached crisis level," he said. "This now means that residents who are beyond this point (Cascade) will have to go back through St Andrew on to St Mary to get into Portland. This alternative route exists no more, and this situation now requires priority treatment so as to restore and maintain the already fragile agriculture and tourism sectors in this valley."
Just last year, during the lead up to the general election, there was a massive landslide in the same area.