Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
Camp View Avenue in Kintyre, St. Andrew, has been severely eroded by flood waters, forcing residents to use a makeshift bridge to get from one side of the road to the next.
Heavy Hurricane Noel-related rains continued to batter the island resulting in landslides and flooding in some parishes yesterday.
According to reports reaching The Gleaner, landslides on a section of the Junction main road near Golden Spring, St. Andrew, caused a massive traffic pile-up in the vicinity for hours, while, in another incident, the Eleven Mile ford in Bull Bay, also in St. Andrew, was blocked.
Ronald Jackson, director general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), said that while he was yet to be informed of the status of the Bull Bay situation, one of two reported landslide-related roadblocks near Stony Hill was cleared.
Severely affected
He said that the eastern end of the island, particularly the parish of St. Thomas, was being severely affected by the current showers.
"There are situations in St. Thomas where we have communities being temporarily marooned as the roads are blocked. Last night, coming into this (yesterday) morning, we had to use Jamaica Defence Force helicopters to send food supplies to the communities of Mount Vernon and Johnson Mountain in that parish," Mr. Jackson said. "We continue to face difficulties in addressing the state of the roads as it is hard for the National Works Agency to work while the rain persists."
Mid-level trough
An update from the Meterological Service said that while the current rains affecting the island may be associated with Hurricane Noel, which is now moving out of territorial waters, there is currently a surface to mid-level trough, which has been producing unstable weather conditions across the central and western Caribbean.
The update continued that cloudy conditions with moderate to heavy showers occurred over much of the island yesterday and are expected to continue today. As a result, a flash flood warning remains in effect for all parishes. All fishers and other marine interests are advised to exercise caution in light of the deteriorating sea conditions in the vicinity of showers and thunderstorms.
