Raging Yallahs River carves new path, leaving communities cut off
Published:Tuesday | November 4, 2025 | 12:08 AMKaren Madden/Gleaner Writer
Vehicular and pedestrian access between St Thomas and St Andrew has been severed after the four-lane Yallahs River Bridge, located at the border of the two parishes, was washed away during the passage of Hurricane Melissa last week.
The destruction has left residents – including farmers who transport their produce to the Jablum Coffee Factory in Mavis Bank, as well as students – without immediate passage, effectively marooned by the river’s fury.
The Yallahs River overflowed its banks during the storm, tearing through vegetation and roadways with relentless force.
When The Gleaner visited the area on Monday, a lone tractor – reportedly owned by the nearby Sherwood Forest Conservation Estate – was seen working to redirect the raging river back to its original course.
Community resident Rohan Blake described the devastation, explaining that the river carved a new path through previously dry land.
“Here suh was a woodland. Here suh was the dry part weh no water nuh run, nuh water neva deh here suh. Suh chu di river come hard, it eat off the whole a da side here, ‘cause if you notice, you can look at the river course from up there; it is straight. When di water come heavy the right way, it don’t guh ‘round corner. It eat off the whole of the straight.”
On Monday, the tractor remained their only glimmer of hope, fighting against heavy water, huge boulders and sand.
“The tractor is now putting it back on its course. Suh him a try move it from over here suh and put it back over there, suh him can build back over here.”
The Yallahs River, one of the longest in Jamaica, runs from the Blue Mountains through rugged terrain in St Thomas and St Andrew before emptying into the Caribbean Sea.