A man gets a drink of water from a broken main in the devastated Bog Walk gorge, St Catherine. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

So with all the damage caused to the Bog Walk gorge by the storm that passed over the country recently, Miss Mary, the mango vendor has had to relocate, and fast.

'Mi seh pa! Mi haffi a sell off di mango dem cheap cheap, for dem a go ripe off. Now dat storm blow and it look like rain set up again, nobody nuh want nuh mango," she said, dejectedly. Miss Mary is a 60- something-year-old woman with a bald head and wide eyes. Her shoulder muscles were huge and she looked like she could crack a walnut between her fingers.

"Di storm just come mash up mi business," she said, in her somewhat intimidating, husky voice. Miss Mary and a handful of other mango and guinep vendors who were once staples at the Bog Walk gorge have had to reposition themselves closer to Spanish Town, near to the Angels housing scheme.

No buyers

"But all di move wi move, nobody still nah go buy nothing. Di whole ting mash up!" she said, letting her arms fall lifelessly by her sides. These kinds of disasters have caused the gorge to be closed 16 times in the last 20 years, so this is nothing new to the veteran mango peddler, but she says that this time, things are a lot worse. "To how di place mash up now, it a go teck longer fi open dan normal. Wi nah go able fi sell back in deh again fi now. Lawd ha massy!" she moaned.

There were dark, ominous clouds in the sky and there was a strong breeze. Across from Miss Mary was a wiry little girl who everyone called Princess. She was holding a plastic dish full of mangoes, most of which, looked larger than her head. She was staring at something in a tree next to her and the dish looked like it was about to fall from her hands.

"Pickney stop skylark! Yuh a go dash weh di whole a di mango dem!" Miss Mary shouted, catching the girl by surprise. "Wi already have trouble fi sell dem and yuh waan dash dem weh! Yuh head a gadda water?"

Princess straightened up and mumbled something under her breath.

I asked Miss Mary about the gorge. "Di whole a it mash up pa! Di whole place gone, mash up. Nothing nuh lef' back deh, yuh can go look if yuh want," she said.

I thanked the woman for her time, and walked over to a makeshift barricade that was blocking access to the gorge. A shirtless man jumped out of nowhere. "Yow pardy, place lock off," said he. I introduced myself to him and told him that I just wanted to take a look at the damage. "Hold on, mek mi go put on a shirt," he said and went into a nearby wooden building. The man who called himself Tino soon reappeared in a t-shirt with the word 'Lion' written on it. He was also wearing rubber boots and was puffing on a cigarette like his life depended on it.

The damage

"Come in pardy, mek wi mek a trod," Tino said and walked beyond the barricade. I was close behind him. "Mi live up a di hill deh," Tino said, pointing to a nearby mountain. I could see the damage now. The entire roadway had disappeared, exposing large pipes that once ran under the surface of the road. The bridge was still standing, but everything else seemed a wreck. I asked Tino if he was at home when the damage was being done. "Yeah man, mi up deh a teck in everything," he said. "A pure big rock stone a drop like rain from up a di mountain. It did bad," said he. I noticed water springing like a fountain from one of the exposed pipes. I asked Tino about this. "Well we nuh too feel nuh way bout dat, still, for a dat di man dem a use now fi get water, for water lock off all over round here," he said. As Tino said this, I noticed a man stopping to take a drink from the 'spring'.

No escape

"See it deh, a di only way fi get likkle water," Tino said. "When mi see di rock stone dem a drop, and di river a come down, mi start fret! One mind a tell mi fi come down from off a di hill before di house tumble over wid mi. But den mi seh if mi come off and go down pan di flat, den di river a go wash mi weh," Tino said.

"Lawd what a sinting. Mi and mi baby madda and mi one yute up deh start pray fi di storm done. A di worse mi ever see it," said he.

At this point, a rumble of thunder gave Tino a jolt and the heavens opened up. With the rain coming down so suddenly, Tino and I darted off in different directions. I scarcely saw the back of his head as he headed up the hill and back to the relative safety of home.

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A section of Bog Walk gorge that was damaged by flood waters from Tropical Storm Gustav. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer