MONTEGO BAY, St James – Heavy rains in this resort city yesterday left several residents flooded out of their homes and scores of businessmen counting their losses, as the North Gully for the second time in 10 days overflowed its banks, dumping tonnes of debris and millions of gallons of water in the city.

The rains, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) said, was due to a cold front located west of Jamaica which was expected to move across the island throughout the day.

The heavy early morning rainfall also resulted in the flooding of the Flankers and Rose Hall main roads, which were for several hours rendered impassable to vehicular traffic.

Mayor of Montego Bay Noel Donaldson, who toured sections of the city in the aftermath of the flooding, blamed the government for not providing the necessary resources to have the filthy North Gully cleaned.

” I am personally holding the prime minister of Jamaica ( P J Patterson) responsible and liable for the flooding in the city of Montego Bay that has been flooded on two occasions over the past two weeks,” a frustrated Mayor Donaldson said.

The city’s mayor has long warned that the existing volume of silt and debris in the gully could cause a heavy shower of rain to result in the flooding of several business places in the city.

Donaldson said the St James Parish Council had written to the prime minister more than two years ago to intervene in a dispute between the National Works Agency (NWA) and the local authority whose responsibility it is to clean the gully.

The council has constantly argued that it is the responsibility of the NWA to clean the gully, but the NWA on the other hand has vigorously stated that the responsibility lies with the local authority.

Yesterday, Mayor Donaldson said he was calling on Patterson and the government to compensate those business people and residents who suffered losses because of what he described as the “gross negligence of the government” in the cleaning of the gully.

The gully, which runs from Upper Salt Spring Road to the ‘Dump-up Beach’, off the Howard Cooke Boulevard, was last cleaned in July 2004. At that time, the funds were provided by the St James Parish Council, the National Solid Waste Management Authority and the National Works Agency.

Meanwhile, several businessmen, particularly those operating on the bottom of Union Street and sections of Harbour Street, William Street and St James Street spent most of yesterday morning cleaning the mud and silt deposited in their establishments.

Businessman Vasca Brown, who operates King Valley Meats on Union Street estimated his loss in excess of $1.2 million during the October 15 floodingof the city.

Losses incurred by yesterday’s flooding, Brown said, were still being tallied, but was expected to run into several thousands.

Another businessman, Wilbert Brown, operator of Hammer Tyre Shop, said that his losses were also expected to run into thousands of dollars as a result of water damage to his compressors and other equipment.

Several other business operators in the downtown area of the city also reported huge losses.

At the same time, at least eight families living in proximity to the gully said they have lost almost everything.

Among them is Sharon Bell who lives on a section of William Street.

She too was badly affected by the October 15 flooding, but said yesterday’s flooding was the worst she has ever witnessed.

” At about 7 O’ clock mi find water coming into the house from over the gully and mi haffi run out,” Bell said.

She added that the water, which had risen to more than five feet in the house, damaged her electrical appliances as well as her furniture.

Faye Headley, the parish disaster coordinator for St James, told the Observer late yesterday that she had received reports that at least 20 families were badly affected by the flooding.

Headley said several roadways suffered damage during the heavy rains, but noted that the extent of the damage was not yet known as assessments were still being carried out by several governmental agencies.

There were also reports of flooding in the neighbouring parishes of Hanover and Trelawny.

The Greenwood to Falmouth main road was blocked by flood waters, while traffic in a number of communities in Hanover was reduced to single-lane.