Tashieka Mair, Gleaner Writer
A woman gets a piggyback through flood waters on St. James Street in Montego Bay yesterday morning as a clean-up crew (in background) gets to work. - PHOTO BY HERBERT MCKENIS
WESTERN BUREAU:
TORRENTIAL RAINS swept massive amounts of debris through the streets of Montego Bay yesterday morning, forcing commuters to scurry into stores and marooning hundreds for hours.
Scores of onlookers fled to safety as large volumes of water, triggered by heavy rains, rushed through the North Gully and swallowed sections of St. James, Harbour and Union streets. The murky deluge covered vehicles and flowed into business places.
Within minutes, the sheer panic of the shoppers turned into bitter rage and people complained about the poor state of drains.
Michael Smith, a Montego Bay resident, told The Gleaner that the water had risen quickly, leaving people little time to reach higher ground.
WAIST HEIGHT WITHIN AN HOUR
"The water started rising at about 8:30 in the morning but was at waist height within an hour," said Mr. Smith. "Every time a little rain fall, the whole place flood out."
Ian Reid, secretary/manager of the St. James Parish Council, told The Gleaner that the maintenance of the North Gully has always been a controversial issue, as it is unclear under whose ambit the duty falls.
"We wrote to the Office of the Prime Minister a year ago trying to establish which agency has responsibility for maintaining and cleaning the North Gully," said Mr. Reid. "They responded that the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) has responsibility to remove solid waste but did not go as far as to say who is responsible."
When contacted, Percival Stewart, regional manager of the NSWMA, told The Gleaner that the cleaning of the gully does not fall under the purview of his agency.
