A landslide, caused by heavy rains lashing the island since Tuesday, yesterday destroyed a two-room house in Mud Town, near Gordon Town in St Andrew, killing a 25-year-old woman, identified as Laura Reid, and injuring three other occupants.

At the same time, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), reported that an elderly woman who was trapped in a house on Hope Boulevard had to be rescued by the fire brigade, while persons in a truck that was washed away in the Cassia Park gully in St Andrew were rescued by firefighters.

The occupant of a car also escaped injury when the vehicle was covered with mud in a landslide along Mountain Spring Drive, off Widcombe Road in St Andrew.

Meanwhile, residents of Duhaney Pen in St Thomas were last night forced to leave their homes for higher grounds after a groin broke in the Belvedere River and gushed muddy water into their homes below.

The swirling water appeared almost without warning early yesterday morning, and receded by midday. However, by 6:00 pm there was more flood water, forcing the residents to hastily pack their possessions and leave, even as many stood in amazement watching the water rise.

Ronald Jackson, the director general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), told the Observer last night that he would be contacting the duty officer in the area to assist with evacuation of the residents, although attempts to do so were made earlier in the day without success.

“The problem is much more complex and so we are trying to work with local authorities to evacuate them, but a lot of people are reluctant to leave,” Jackson said, adding that the nearest shelter was in Morant Bay.

Patrice Walker, a resident of the community, told the Observer that the residents were fearful for their lives as the water had become deeper and rougher than it was earlier in the day.

“Some people move out already because the water is almost into their house and it look as if it is about to get worse because of how swiftly it is running,” she said in a telephone interview last night.

She said scores of residents had converged on the community watching helplessly as the water swirled around them.

“A lot of people come here to just watch it and many are wondering what else to do because they are very scared,” she said.

In the meantime, more than 2,500 persons in the communities of Rae Town, Millbank, Bowden Pen and Comfort Castle, all in the adjoining parish of Portland, were marooned as the Dry River overflowed its banks. The bridge, which is the only access point to the communities, was washed away three weeks ago and residents had been using a ladder to get across the river.