A motorist drives by a large pipe that was used by residents of Ten Miles Bull Bay, St. Andrew, yesterday to block the roads in an attempt to highlight constant floodings due to what they say is a lack of regular drain cleaning and a need for a new bridge to replace the one that was washed away during Hurricane Ivan. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

Traffic was reduced to a snail's pace in Ten Miles Bull Bay, St. Andrew, yesterday after residents complained about a collapsed bridge and a gully which needs cleaning.

Residents yesterday said they were concerned that, with the hurricane season now on, they may fall victim to malaria and their children may become infected with cholera as there were sections along the collapsed bridge that were filled with puddles of dirty water. They also said their gully had not been cleaned since 2004.

One woman said: "Since Hurricane Ivan, they have not cleaned the gully, and the dirty water that settles there can cause cholera to the children. We do not have any money to take our children to the hospital every minute, so we want the gully to clean."

Another woman added: "We need the bridge too because we have to be walking through somebody's yard and her bridge is collapsing too."

She continued: "We want some assistance now because right now the bushes are high and we do not even know if alligators (crocodiles) are living in the water."