Woman fears home is on the brink of collapse

Nadine Robinson, 50, is living on the edge as her once stable four-bedroom home teeters perilously close to collapse.

The devastation wrought by Hurricane Beryl unearthed long-standing grievances among the residents of Tambrind Tree in Nine Miles, Bull Bay. They claim that unchecked mining of dirt from the nearby riverbed, allegedly to fix the new southern highway, has significantly altered the natural water flow of a nearby gully, exacerbating flooding risks during heavy rains. Robinson, who was seeking refuge in St Thomas during the hurricane's passage, returned to find her home dangerously perched on a compromised foundation.

"Nobody is going to help me, it doesn't make sense," she said. "We hear say the storm a come so mi just decide fi pack up and leave. I have lived here for 34 years and this is the first this is happening. When I came to live here there was no water running here any at all."

"For the past 12 years, the gully has not been cleaned. The river runs over there and here is land. It's because the gully has not been cleaned [as a result] when the water come down, it come aggressive and I got the brunt of it," she said. Robinson's neighbour, Anthony Ellis, recalled the days before the expansion of the highway, when the community faced occasional floods that he said were manageable. However, recent years have seen a dramatic increase in both the frequency and severity of flooding.

"It's like them just tell them fi come dig dirt and them never stop mining until the river get wider and wider," Ellis said. Efforts to stabilise Robinson's home involved dumping dirt under the eroded area, but concerns linger about its long-term viability.

"This is my first house that I've owned and I have worked hard to build it so I'm looking to try and fix the foundation. My neighbour is willing to help me box and cast it. I don't know if that will work but we are going to try so it nuh drop," she said.

Member of Parliament (MP) for East Rural St Andrew, Juliet Holness, was criticised for her alleged inaction regarding the gully's maintenance. Robinson and Ellis recounted years of unfulfilled promises and neglectful oversight.

"All of the water from the highway is directed to the gully. Damion Crawford was the MP for five years and he never cleaned the gully. Juliet Holness is on eight years and she has never cleaned it either. The last person who cleaned the gully was Joseph Hibbert who ran for 10 years and we neva get flooded then. We live here, we would know," Robinson said.

Residents are advocating for structural solutions, such as a protective wall along the gully to mitigate future flood risks. They are also seeking governmental support to provide material assistance to repair and fortify their homes against further environmental threats. Despite the damage, Robinson remains thankful for life.

"Maybe if me did in there when the place a tek weh mi woulda have a heart attack so it's a good thing I wasn't there," she said.

THE STAR contacted both Holness and Stephen Shaw, manager of communication and customer services at the National Works Agency. Neither was in a position to respond at press time.