John Myers Jr., Staff Reporter
Scores of onlookers view the ill-fated car that was washed away in Myersville St. Elizabeth, by gushing waters caused by Hurricane Emily on Saturday. - IAN ALLEN/STAFFPHOTOGRAPHER
FIVE PERSONS, including a five-month-old baby boy and a four-year-old girl, were killed in St. Elizabeth on Saturday as ravaging flood waters caused by Hurricane Emily battered sections of the parish.
The victims have been identified as 22-year-old Jermaine Spooner from Santa Cruz; 23-year-old Natanya Ervil from Malvern, her four-year-old daughter Tyler-Tamash Parch-ment, her five-month-old son Dantoy Elliott, and Larry Stewart, all from St. Elizabeth. Ervil, her two children and Spooner were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in was swept over a precipice in the community of Myersville.
The bodies of Spooner, Stewart and four-year-old Tyler-Tamash are yet to be recovered.
Reports are that about 7:30 p.m., a Toyota Levin driven by Roy Elliot developed difficulties on the way from Malvern to Santa Cruz.
Spooner and Stewart were among residents of the area who all tried to push the vehicle through the treacherous flood waters but to no avail. Spooner tried to steer the car to safety while Stewart and the others attempted to push the vehicle. However, the heavy waters became too much for the men and Stewart and Spooner along with Ervil and her two children were washed over a precipice.
A search was launched by the police shortly afterwards, but poor visibility and rising waters forced the postponement of the rescue mission late Saturday evening. The vehicle was, however, recovered yesterday morning.
Several hundred onlookers from across Southeast St. Elizabeth gathered as Alpart workers used heavy equipment to drain the mud lake in an attempt to recover the other three bodies.
"This is one of the worst incidents to have taken place in St. Elizabeth. It has caused us pain and shock," said Member of Parliament for Southeast St. Elizabeth, Lenworth Blake.
DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
In the meantime, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) said its Welfare and Relief Teams were currently out in the field carrying out assessments of the damage as several communities in that parish were hard-hit by the floods.
In assessing the damage to the agriculture sector, Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke said preliminary assessments have revealed significant damage to agriculture, mainly in St. Elizabeth and South Manchester.
He said the damage from Hurricane Dennis was estimated at between $150 million and $200 million. He said representatives from the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) will be going back into the field to assess the damage caused by Emily.
The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) said just over 1,000 of its customers are still without electricity. Winsome Callum, corporate communications manager said the JPS restoration crews were working assiduously to restore supply.
Dr. Christopher Tufton, president of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) affiliate G2K, is criticising the government for how it has been dealing with disaster mitigation and recovery efforts. "G2K is suggesting that while the government cannot stop natural disasters, they can reduce the impact through forward planning," a statement said yesterday. The G2K president suggested that a centralised, co-ordinated approach involving the various agencies was needed.
The G2K is also contending that an audit of all Parish Councils was needed as most were ill-prepared to carryout basic functions such as drain cleaning.
- Gleaner reporters Monique Hepburn and Haile Clacken contributed to this story
