Port Antonio affected by heavy rain

Several businesses and homes were inundated along West Street in Port Antonio following heavy rains that pounded sections of Port Antonio, Portland, yesterday morning.

The heavy downpour, which lasted for approximately seven hours, resulted in silt and debris blocking several drains, causing flooding along a section of that roadway and also along Little Annotto Road in Port Antonio.

"The rainfall was very heavy and drains were blocked by debris," said 82-year-old Tence Lamont.

"Whenever it rains heavily my house is flooded. Earlier this year a wall, which was built around my house collapsed as a result of the heavy rainfall."

She added that a team from the Portland Parish Council visited the area then but nothing was done.

Some metres away, a barber shop along West Street did not escape the adverse weather condition, as a nearby drain overflowed, dumping mud, Styrofoam boxes, plastic bottles and other debris inside the shop.

"When I arrived to check on the condition of the shop, water and mud was rushing right through," said Jerome Hill, a barber. "Whenever it rains heavily, the shop is flooded and garbage and other material are always dumped inside."

Several roadways, including Long Wall near the Coronation bakery, a section of West Palm Avenue, and Folly Road, were blocked by rising water. The water has since receded.