One shower too many

MONTEGO BAY, St James— Several residents of a section of the Estuary Housing Scheme in Montego Bay, who had held out hope that the area’s flooding problems would be resolved, are now relocating or making arrangements to leave. Heavy rains on Monday evening lashed sections of St James, leaving parts of the scheme under at least four feet of water and forcing remaining residents to flee to safety. The rainfall, which lasted for approximately one hour, also sent water rushing through sections of nearby Johns Hall. Firefighters were called in to help clear roads in the Johns Hall area, while sections of the Latium roadway were blocked by fallen trees and landslides. In other parts of St James, flood waters inundated shops and swept away cars in Tucker. Catherine Hall was also flooded once again as its drainage system struggled to cope with the volume of water. “This is pure headache,” said one female resident of Estuary Housing Scheme as she loaded her possessions, her children, and her dog into her car on Tuesday. “I don’t know what is happening but I know I have to move,” said the woman who declined to give her name.

Houses under water in the Estuary Housing Scheme in Montego Bay, St James on Tuesday morning following a heavy shower Monday evening. 

According to the woman, she had remained in the area despite flooding caused by storm waters associated with Hurricane Melissa last year hoping that there would not be a repeat. During the passage of the Category 5 storm last October a pond exceeded its capacity, creating a massive pool of water in the Estuary Housing Scheme area, which is laid out as a cul-de-sac. Some residents were subsequently given the option to relocate, while others were allowed to remain and repair their homes, which had been affected by the flooding. Like others who had stayed, the promise that the drainage problems would be addressed had been enough to convince the female resident to remain. Monday’s rainfall, though, highlighted the untenable situation, particularly as the drains have yet to be repaired. “During the storm [Melissa] it basically flood out most of the area but after the storm when the rain fell heavily it wouldn’t quite reach me but last night [Monday night] it came up,” she lamented. The Estuary Housing Scheme residents told the Jamaica Observer that since Melissa, they have had to sleep with the proverbial one eye open whenever it rains, fearful that something could go wrong. During the latest flooding, one woman had to be rescued by neighbours after rising water left her trapped inside her house.

A shop flooded out on the Tucker Main Road in St James following heavy rain on Monday evening.x

A man who also decided to remain in the area after Hurricane Melissa told the Observer that he is now reconsidering his decision to stay, as the problem persists even during downpours that are not torrential. “Mi a think ‘bout it, mi a think ‘bout it,” said the man who asked not to be named. He argued that the adjoining Estuary Meadows development, where some residents had been asked to move, was not much better. “A lady that move around there — from what I heard — her line peg is further than the fence because the soil, it a break way. People around there say them in their house and them feel like the house drop, and the place a sink. The land around there is not stable,” he said. The man blamed the latest flooding on the failure of the authorities to fix a collapsed section of the road above the development and charged that this had caused a blockage in the drainage system. “Them just need to fix back up there so the water can pass,” he argued. A visit to the area by an Observer team on Tuesday showed that equipment and material for the repairs to the drains were in place. A message posted in the Estuary Citizens Association’s WhatsApp group also indicated that the work was expected to be completed by December 2026. However, it remains uncertain whether that deadline will be met, given that October is drawing to a close and the required work appears to be a major undertaking.