Raymond Atkins looks at a section of his yard that was damaged by water which made its way under the retaining wall of the Constant Spring Gully on Monday. Mr. Atkins' house is at 10 Festival Road off Whitehall Avenue, in St. Andrew. - RICARDO MAKYN
AT LEAST TWO homeowners in St. Andrew are now worried that their homes could be destroyed by flood waters after sections of their yards collapsed yesterday morning.
Glen Sett, who has live at 19 Waterford Drive, Duhaney Park for the past 37 years, said his dogs' house, a retaining wall and sections of his yard collapsed into a gully at 3:00 a.m. "I heard like something drop heavy, then I feel a vibration and when I look through the window I see the wall collapse," Sett said.
The dogs seemed to have sensed danger and ran out of their kennel moments before it fell into the gully. All that remains at the side of Sett's house is a gate hanging in the balance. He said early in the morning he tried to get help but when THE STAR went to his home minutes after 2:00 p.m., help still had not arrived. "I called the mayor and he said he would try and send someone to look at the problem and when I call the emergency management people they said is public holiday," Sett said.
THE STAR contacted the National Works Agency and was told that help would be sent to assist the residents to clear the blocked gully.
Raymond Atkins, who lives at 10 Festival Way, near Whitehall Avenue, is also worried about his yard. He said about 4:00 a.m., a pit toilet and a section of his yard were washed away by water from the Sandy Gully.
PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE
The Sandy Gully, which flows behind his yard, dug up the gully's concrete flooring, seeped underground and into Atkins' yard, saturating the soil and causing the collapse. Tenants at Atkins' home hastily moved out of the house as they attempted to escape any further danger.
Karl Samuda, Member of Parliament for North Central St. Andrew went to assess the damage to Atkins' yard and promised he would seek funds to have the gully repaired.
Icilda Whyte, Atkins' 72-year-old neighbour was also worried that the water would also damage her yard. As a precautionary measure, Whyte moved all her furniture to the front of her house in case pieces of her yard and home collapsed.
In the meantime, the Spanish Town Hospital compound was flooded blocking access to the Maternity Ward. As a result, the Ministry of Health advised that pregnant women go directly to Victoria Jubilee Hospital if they go into labour.
Flooding was reported in several areas including Penguin Key to Chapelton Road, Pennants Wood, Sandy Bay to Free Town, Chapelton to Longville and Harris Street to May Pen in Clarendon.
In St. Catherine, the Bog Walk Gorge was impassable while the Portmore Causeway was inundated with water and could only be accessed by heavy duty vehicles.
Flooding also occurred in several sections of Portmore including Dunbeholden, Bridgeport, Waterford, Christian Gardens, Braeton and Edgewater. New Haven, White Hall Avenue, Riverton Meadows and Maxfield Avenue communities in the Corporate Area were also flooded.
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