WHENEVER heavy rain falls residents of New Haven in the Corporate Area get fidgety.

The area is flood-prone as the nearby Duhaney River has often overflowed its banks and caused woe for several residents, especially those who live near to the river.

When torrential showers poured for most of Friday into Saturday morning, while some people in other communities snuggled up and gave thanks for the much-needed rain, Junior Mitchell and Getfield Forsythe were busy clearing a section of the river which was clogged by plastic bottles and other debris.

“We work through the rain and try we best to clear the way, make the river run free,” Mitchell told the Jamaica Observer as he pointed to a makeshift boat with a paddle that they boarded to carry out the clearing operation.

The river runs into a tributary of the Sandy Gully which eventually enters into the main gully at Riverton City.

That tributary, which runs parallel to the Washington Boulevard, is often clogged and tall brush can be seen growing through the concrete during the dry season.

“We need the gully to be cleared of the debris, or when the rains start come heavy we going flood out again. It happen every year,” Forsythe said.

The Meteorological Service yesterday issued a flash flood watch for low-lying and flood-prone areas of the Corporate Area, St Mary, Portland, St Catherine and Clarendon.

The watch was issued due to a tropical wave west of Jamaica that has been influencing rainfall across the island.

Rain is expected to persist.

The Met Service said that sea conditions are expected to deteriorate and showers and thunderstorms were expected to continue until 5:00 pm yesterday.

Early yesterday morning the police issued a warning to motorists to avoid Maxfield Avenue, Port Royal Street and South Camp Road in the Corporate Area as those areas were rendered impassable due to the showers.

However, when the Sunday Observer visited those areas on Saturday morning the roads were clear as the water had receded.