Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
Vehicles traverse the temporary bridge at the Yallahs ford in St Thomas on June 21, 2005. The bridge, was constructed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan.

Each year, many communities across the island are severely impacted by flood waters. The causative factors are both man-made and natural. In a series of articles, Enterprise Reporter Mark Titus takes an in-depth look at flood-prone Jamaica.

St Thomas, ranked as one of the poorest parishes in Jamaica, and one that is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, needs an injection of some $30 million to adequately prepare for future environmental eventualities.

"What we have already spent is woefully inadequate," says mayor of the parish, Councillor Harold Brown, referring to the approximate $8.5 million that has gone into preparation activities.

He tells The Sunday Gleaner that the parish is about 70 per cent prepared for the hurricane season that commenced in June.

"No parish is ever 100 per cent ready. We started our pre-hurricane season preparation in April with our drain-cleaning exercise, and as we speak, we are stepping up the pace of our preparatory work, because there is much more to be done," he says.

Personal safety

For residents in the flood-prone communities - many of whom are still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Dean last year - personal safety is primary. Even a typical afternoon downpour shatters residents' sense of security.

"We couldn't deal with that (disasters) right now," Seymour Ramsay, a resident of Easington offers. "Personally, I am still straightening out things from Dean, and we have been having some showers now and again. Right now, we are not worried about the hurricane season; we are concerned about the amount of silt that is in the (Yallahs) riverbed. as rain starts to fall, every body here starts to fret," he continues.

The Yallahs River stretches approximately 20 miles into the Blue Mountains. little more than a boulder-strewn gully during the dry season, it becomes a raging torrent whenever it rains, making the ford on the main road impassable.

Easington is just one of several villages, located in the vicinity of the unpredictable waterway, whose occupants are now living in fear. These include Llandewey, Ramble and Norris.

"It is very frightening. The very sound of large rocks coming down in the rushing water will send you to your grave," Bernetta Salmon, a 73-year-old retired midwife shares.

With nowhere to go, the villagers are hanging their hopes on the authorities removing the silt from the riverbed. This is reportedly a problem throughout the northeastern parish, making it difficult for drains to be maintained.

"It is posing a challenge for us," St Thomas disaster coordinator Millicent Blake explains. "The rivers have not been desilted for years, and with the waterway being filled with silt, there is little room for the water to run. Therefore, it becomes inundated every time there is heavy rainfall and the citizens are flooded out," she states.

Affected communities

The coordinator fingers communities such as Port Morant, Swamp Road, Yallahs, Heartease and its environs, as some that are affected by this problem. Areas such as Golden Grove, Wheelers Field and Phillips Field also suffer from flooding.

According to Mayor Brown, the parish council has been getting "good support from the agencies, including the police, the fire service and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, who have been constantly meeting with stakeholders in the parish".

Approximately 30 trained shelter managers cover the parish, and, in addition, an active public-education programme is being run by the churches and schools.

Regarding the bridge under construction at the Yallahs ford, Mayor Brown says the parish council is not satisfied with some aspects of its design, and has since requested blueprints from the Ministry of Transport and Works.

Reduced size

"The originally planned size of the new bridge has been reduced significantly and we are of the opinion that it is too low. But I think a look at the design will alleviate our fears or justify our concerns," Brown states.

He argues that inappropriate land-use practices have contributed to the problems of silting in the riverbed. "Bad farming and mining practices have compounded the problems at the ford during heavy rains, so there needs to be more stringent regulation toward sand mining and deforestation if we are serious about addressing the incidents that have been contributing to this problem," says Brown.

For the long term, the mayor says his vision is to have communities in St Thomas empowered and sensitised in the key elements of disaster preparedness, so their dependence on Government will be reduced.

At-risk communities