MONEAGUE, St Ann – There’s new life in this usually quiet southeastern St Ann town.

Ever since the perennial ponds in the nearby district of Swamp swelled to engulf the community late last year, the scene has become a major draw for local folks.

But no one quite expected it to be like this.

On Sundays (mostly) the area serves as an attraction for persons in and outside of St Ann, drawing hundreds of curious visitors.

Last Sunday was no exception as vehicles lined the road for several hundred metres, with those who arrived after 4:00 pm forced to park and walk nearly half a mile, in some instances, to get a view of the main body of water. A Toyota coaster marked Brag Tours, with a ‘chartered’ sign prominently displayed, was among the vehicles in the line.

From the BMWs and the SUVs, to the small cars, all types of vehicle were parked along the roadway.

The trek ends where the road is totally submerged and this is where most of the activities take place.

Sweet melodies of Percy Sledge’s ‘Warm and Tender Love’ filled the air as Platinum sound system entertained the crowd.

Vendors were spotted everywhere. Among the sellers, a man with water melons and escallion atop his car. He appeared to be a market vendor with goods left over from Saturday’s sale. Indeed, he was an indication of things to come.

Oranges, American apples, roasted yam and salt fish, fried chicken, beer, biscuits, sweets, juices, box drinks, cigarettes, rizzla, yellow yam by the pound, callaloo and watermelon were among the many food items being sold by the vendors who came from far and wide.

Sunday marked the first day “on the job” for Althea who travelled from St Catherine to the new “tourist town” to sell beer and cigarettes.

“(Sales are) not too bad,” she said, offering a smile as she sat perched on her wooden stool. She plans to continue selling at her newfound “hot spot” on a regular bais.

Noel, from Spanish Town, sells bags and lingerie.

“I came here to look at the water and to sell something as well. I sell bags, panties and brassiere,” he told the Observer.

“It’s really devastating. A minister, the prime minister or member of parliament should see what they can do to help out… a lot of people suffering,” he commented.

Hugh Jackson, a taxi driver from Ocho Rios knew, the area all too well, but Sunday’s visit was his first since the rising waters transformed the area into a huge lake.

“It’s really something to look at… I’ve been here before, I’ve seen the size of the (original) lake but this is enormous,” he said.

There were hundreds of people milling around, some taking pictures, others video-taping the scene.

Three men with boats were offering boat rides for a fee. Customers came quickly.

Nearer to the water’s edge at the end of the road, a smaller sound system played. On a slope on the side of the road, further away from the water, several vendors were busy serving customers.

The inevitable traffic pile-up occurred when motorists, trying to leave, were blocked by those coming down the now one-lane road. It took some reversing and directives from pedestrians to clear the maze.

On the main road in Moneague, at the turn-off to head to Swamp, traffic had also begun to pile up. Soon, it made no sense turning off the main road. The road to Swamp was blocked by vehicles as much as it was blocked by water further down.

Claude McCain, a resident of St Ann and employee of the National Water Commission, said the water is still rising.

“The water continues to rise everyday and it’s evident because I come here every week and every week I come here I have to walk at different locations because of how rapid the water is rising,” he explained.

“It is amazing. For years I’ve worked in this area and it’s the first I’m seeing this,” he added, pointing to four utility poles that were only inches from being totally submerged. Each pole signalled a house, which remained under water.

A similar occurrence took place in 1930, McCain said but it was more severe as the rising water took in far more land than it did last year. He said it took four years for that water to recede.

But McCain said he was concerned about the possibility of an outbreak of communicable disease.

“My concern is the contamination of the water, It’s very risky as the level of contamination is so high because you have a lot of pit latrines around the place, all of them are submerged and people are still living in the area, fishing in the water and taking boat rides,” he said.

But no one seemed to care about the potential danger. The sight was something they had never seen before or may never see again in Jamaica.