BY 3:00 pm yesterday, some electrical poles were already down and several sheets of zinc had blown onto sections of Molynes Road in Kingston, as the thick veil of grey clouds which hung over the city all day turned dark and burst into heavy showers. The downpour was accompanied by heavy winds.

Ivan had arrived. At least 10 advertising signs along Molynes and Half Way Tree Road littered the streets, evoking memories of Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, while more than 100 persons were in shelters at the Edith Dalton James and Pemborke Hall High schools in St Andrew.

When the Observer visited the school yesterday, nearly 100 persons had turned up at the Edith Dalton James school.

Individuals from the flood-prone New Haven community, Washington Gardens, White Marl and Duhaney Park, had sought refuge at the school, which is one of several shelters in the corporate area.

The group, which was comprised of scores of young children, were resting on makeshift beds put together by joining several desks.

Yvonne Rodway, shelter manager for the Jamaica Red Cross, was one of four officials at the school registering those seeking refuge and distributing items of clothing.

She told the Observer that she had been there since Thursday night, when few persons checked in. The majority started to come in yesterday.

Bertram Hales, another Red Cross official, said the agency had responsibility for the centres for the first 72 hours of the emergency.

“We are the first call of help and we must be here for the first 72 hours or until the water recedes as is necessary,” he said.

A few feet away, an older gentleman, Webster Palmer, was with his two youngest children.

Ten year-old Dennis Palmer had to be given cough medication as he had a hard time breathing.

Palmer, who said he was from New Haven, said he was caring for his five children – the eldest being a 15 year-old girl – as their mother had left them several years ago.

After registering those children, he said he would be making his way back to the community to take his other children to safety.

While the Observer was at the shelter, Lona Higgings of the Public Assistance division of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security brought supplies of food and bleach for the facility.

“I’ve brought a small amount of food supplies and bleach to sanitise the environment,” she said.

The school was her second stop, on her way from the National Arena.