RESIDENTS in a number of communities across the Corporate Area were literally counting the raindrops, yesterday, hoping their communitites and homes wouldn’t be flooded by the heavy showers brought by the tropical wave previously known as Tropical Storm Chantal.

“From (Wednesday) night wi a get heavy rain, and right now wi worried as the drains in the area want to clean, and wi not getting no help,” said Jonathan Whyte.

He was one of several residents from New Haven who said they were worried that if the rains continued they could see flooding in their area. New Haven is a flood-prone community which sits on the banks of the Duhaney River and adjoins Duhaney Park. Residents maintain that the frequent flooding of the communtity could be avoided if drains were kept clean.

Residents in Patrick City, Maxfield Avenue, and sections of Spanish Town and Portmore were also anxious at the possibility of flooding.

“If the rain continue like this me believe we are going to get flooding,” said Randy of Patrick City.

“Wi really worried, but wi a keep our fingers crossed that things nuh get too rough with this rain,” Dwayne Mitchell ofn Maxfield Avenue told the Jamaica Observer.

“The rain really fell hard over the last few hours, but wi just hoping that it will not continue at that level over the next few hours,” said John Thomas, another man from the area. He added that the rains forced him to carry out major clean-up at his home.

In Spanish Town, residents were seen scurrying to complete last minute errands as rains brought traffic in the town to a crawl. Burke Road in the city centre was one of the roadways already inundated by rising waters.

“A this wi get as soon as the rains start to fall hard; people can hardly move from one area to the next,” said one taxi operator in the town.

The Meteorological Office reported that moderate to heavy and very heavy showers and thunderstorms affected sections of all parishes yesterday.

In Portland, Observer correspondent Everard Owen reported that the parish experienced light to moderate showers throughout the day, but that there had not been any reports of flooding or landslippages. There was, however, a power outage in the Rio Grande Valley lasting from about 10:30 pm Wednesday until about 8:00 am yesterday.

Light and power provider Jamaica Public Service (JPS) acknowledged that there were outages in some areas, but said the incidents were not major and service was restored in a timely manner.

“There were some outages in Kingston & St Andrew and St Catherine. There was also an outage of 10 minutes in St Thomas, and very limited sections in St Ann, which lasted one hour or less… In Kingston and St Andrew, there are still some areas out, and JPS has doubled its crews working to restore these areas, as quickly and as safely — weather permitting — as possible,” spokesperson Audrey Williams told the Observer yesterday.

“Most of the areas in St Catherine that had outages have been restored. Some pockets do remain which will be addressed as quickly and safely as possible,” she added.

Up to 5:00 last evening, however, there were no reports of flooding, landslides or other serious event, according to the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and the police information arm, Constabulary Communications Network.

But the chance of flooding is still very real, and the Meterological Office yesterday extended a Flash Flood Watch for low-lying and flood-prone areas of St Mary, Portland, St Thomas, Kingston and St Andrew, St Catherine, and Clarendon, until 5:00 am today.

“(It) means that flash flooding is possible and residents are advised to take precautionary measures, keep informed by listening to further releases from the Meteorological Service and be ready for quick action if flooding is observed or if a Warning is issued,” the Met Office said in a release.

The system moved west of the island yesterday, but was expected to affect weather conditions for “at least another eight-12 hours”, according to the Met service.

The inclement weather did, however, force the postponement of at least one event — the ground-breaking ceremony for the Bernard Lodge housing development which was scheduled for 4:00 pm yesterday. Developers, The Housing Agency of Jamaica said it would inform the public once a new date has been set.

The tropical wave is also influencing conditions across Cuba and Haiti, but elsewhere across the Caribbean is fair and stable, the Met office said. TS Chantal formed over the tropical Atlantic on Sunday, but degenerated by Tuesday afternoon.

— Addtional reporting by Kimone Thompson and Everard Owen