Feeling forgotten

Several residents of St Catherine who suffered significant damage to their homes as a result of Hurricane Melissa’s outer bands are expressing frustration that their cries for help have gone unanswered by the authorities.

Although the core of the historic hurricane spared much of St Catherine, strong outer-band winds wreaked havoc in the Lluidas Vale and Ewarton communities, tearing off roofs and toppling trees.

On Wednesday, officials from the St Catherine Disaster Preparedness and Management Committee, led by Chairman of the St Catherine Municipal Corporation Norman Scott, toured Lluidas Vale and surrounding areas to distribute relief supplies and assess the damage first-hand.

Despite these efforts, affected residents say the response has been slow and inadequate. They cited the lack of running water, electricity, and proper shelter as their most pressing concerns.

For Sharon Small, the situation has been particularly devastating. She had sought refuge at the Lluidas Vale Primary School — one of the designated shelters — but returned to find her one-bedroom board house completely destroyed.

“Everything mash up, nothing never save. Mi did down by the school, and when the breeze done mi come back, and everything gone,” she said with tears in her eyes.

Her hardship deepened when school officials informed her and four others in a similar situation that they would have to leave the premises to allow classes to resume on Wednesday.

Carl Grant, councillor for the Lluidas Vale Division, acknowledged the urgency of their plight and mobilised community members to construct temporary one-room board houses for the displaced residents.

“The principal told me that classes would be resuming, so the shelter arrangement couldn’t continue. I had to quickly organise something for all five affected persons,” Grant told The Gleaner.

In nearby Shady Grove, resident Ernstvon Gibbs recounted losing both his roof and his banana crop during the hurricane.

“The breeze and rain did terrible. The whole roof gone, and the banana tree dem flatten,” he said. “A [one] week now and nobody nuh come check we. No food, no clothes — see deh, mi haffi put out di wet clothes fi dry inna di sun.”

Gibbs added that most affected residents had to rely on neighbours to reattach zinc sheets to prevent further water damage in case of more rain.

According to Grant, more than 20 homes and several farms in the Lluidas Vale area sustained damage during Hurricane Melissa’s passage.

Ivan Williams lost everything, the one-bedroom board house he once called home was flattened by Hurricane Melissa.

“I can only give thanks to Jah,” said Williams, a Rastafarian, as he pointed to the small one-room structure he has begun rebuilding on his own.

“I haven’t heard from anyone until these people came, so I just started to help myself.”

Scott lamented the neglect of residents like Williams and renewed the Opposition’s call for an independent body to oversee relief distribution, warning that failure to act could erode international confidence.

Residents, still reeling from the loss, say they feel forgotten — left to pick up the pieces on their own, while waiting for meaningful assistance to arrive.

ruddy.mathison@gleanerjm.com