Portland man’s dream house crumbles

Herman Ramharrack put his United States property up for sale on Monday and was preparing himself to return to Jamaica where he built his dream house. He was in the island last week, and was eager to occupy his three-storey concrete dwelling located at Content in Hope Bay, Portland,

However, his plans were dealt a devastating blow on Tuesday after the dream house collapsed during the massive earthquake that rocked the island. The entire first floor of the house, which was unoccupied at the time, was destroyed.

"Is yesterday [Monday] morning that I actually officially put up my house in the US fi sell fi come back, enuh," Ramharrack told THE STAR a day after the quake.

Monday's tremor, which was measured at 5.6 on the Richter scale, is the most intense to have rocked Jamaica since 1993 when a 5.3 magnitude quake shook the island.

Ramharrack admitted the three-storey house was not approved by the Portland Municipal Corporation. He said that while the destruction of his house is major, it pales in comparison to the challenges he has faced in recent years. He pointed out that he lost one of his children in 2005, his mother was diagnosed with cancer, his marriage ended in divorce and five of his trucks were repossessed.

"So this is really just a drop inna di bucket compare to what happened to me in 2005," he said, adding that it is "a big toss up as to whether" he will now return to live in Jamaica.

"I am no stranger to trouble, but no life was lost during this earthquake and we can always rebuild. A just one of them things deh ... Life just throw some little blows at you sometimes," he added.