Rains wreak havoc in St Thomas

A woman and her daughter have been left homeless after a landslide crashed into their two-bedroom dwelling in River Head, St Thomas, on Sunday night.

Latisha Lawes said she and her daughter had to make a hasty retreat on Sunday night when flood waters began drenching their rented board house.

"It was horrible. Is like somebody turn on a pipe in the house. The tree above the house drop and from it drop, the landslide just start push down the house," she said.

Lawes said she has since moved out all of her furniture and has been staying with her mother. "Is five years I live here and I really don't know how mi a go manage. One a the time the house start vibrate and the breeze a shift it until mi start wonder if it was going to blow in the river," she said. Mud invaded Lawes' verandah and flowed to other areas of the house.

"Mi honestly can't manage no more rain. All of this come in like a dream. But mi just glad mi and mi daughter alright because the tree could a drop in a the house," Lawes said.

Meanwhile, at least 25 persons are marooned in Orange Tree district in the parish, after flood waters took away a footbridge that connected them with the main road.

The bridge which connected Orange Tree and Gordon Castle to the main district of Llandewey, was washed away during Hurricane Gilbert in 1988.

Gone unheard

Since then residents have had to use logs and pieces of board as a footbridge, which washes away whenever there is heavy rain.

Repeated calls from members of the community for a proper bridge to be erected have gone unheard by the authorities.

"We hungry and we can't get any food. We need food. Tell dem to come help us please," an elderly woman signalled and shouted to the news team.

She and other residents also told the news team that they have lost all electronic communication with the outside world.

Bertram Richards, who stood on the other side of the river, said he would normally travel across daily to tend to his farm.

But he said he was more concerned about the safety of the residents. "Mi know dem hungry, enuh, and mi honestly a wonder if mi fi try cross and get some food to dem.

But the river rough bad and mi don't know if mi can manage it," he said. He pleaded to the authorities to airlift basic necessities to the marooned residents.

"The last time is helicopter have to come cross with tings for them. Dem can't stay hungry and we don't know if rain a go fall again and is a whole heap a pickney over deh," he said.