Despite high winds and pounding rains, which caused poor visibility, soldiers from the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Air Wing were able to rescue 10 people who were stranded on a roof in Winchester, St Thomas, on Thursday.

Captain Andrew Spence, mission commander, described the event as "challenging".

"It was very windy and it was raining heavily, so it was challenging to keep the aircraft steady for the guys in the back. It's not as simple as having the aircraft in one place," he said, while explaining that he had to get instructions about where and how to manoeuvre the aircraft.

Spence said his group was told that four people were trapped in the area but when they arrived, it was more.

The training they received was helpful, but Spence said no amount of practice could adequately prepare the team for the unexpected.

"Every rescue operation is different, but fortunately for us, nothing in this one went wrong," he told The Gleaner.

Sergeant Lenox Hetridge, master aircrew man at the JDF, who has been in rescue operations for over 10 years and in the JDF for over 18, said a rescue team normally consists of four people, but with the rain and the bad weather conditions, the team thought it was important to have an extra person tag along.

"Based on the weather, we thought we would need an extra pair of eyes."

The journey to the location was longer than usual as the helicopter had to change course because of the weather. Braving obstacles, such as electricity wires and metal protruding from the roof of the building, the rescue crew made well on their operations and eventually got all 10 people to safety.

Hetridge says the people were happy to be rescued, but it was also a happy team that went back to JDF headquarters at Up Park Camp after the mission.

"It was a good sense of accomplishment, to know that we can actually save some lives and get people out of danger," he said.

more causes for concern

Hetridge warned that there were more causes for concern with the approach of the hurricane season, as he believed St Thomas was not adequately prepared.

"I see most of the roads blocked, so I guess they need to start cleaning the drains and start educating the people in the flood-prone areas," he said.

While this was the first operation in Winchester, the JDF has conducted several rescue operations in the Golden Grove area of St Thomas, St Catherine and Portland, which Hetridge says, is like "a recurring decimal" when it comes to flooding.

Hetridge recited a common cry from authorities, warning people who live in flood-prone areas to leave as soon as they see the rain and not try to brave the consequences.

As for the Government, the sergeant said they need to do more to educate people about the dangers of these areas, remove unstructured settlements and enact laws to ensure that people can be forcibly removed from their homes in the event of natural disasters.

In the meantime, rain on the island's eastern seaboard has continued to cause problems for students sitting the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations.

Students from Happy Grove High School in Portland had to be accommodated at the Morant Bay High, St Thomas Technical and Paul Bogle High schools in St Thomas.

At press time, there was also an unconfirmed report that a man had been washed away when the Plantain Garden River in St Thomas overflowed its banks.