Leader of the Opposition, Dr Peter Phillips, said that the Government must pay more attention to drains while doing road construction in the Corporate Area.

On Monday, sections of Phillips’ East Central St Andrew constituency, particularly the Molynes Road area, came under several feet of water following a heavy downpour of rain. The flooding was as a direct result of road construction that is taking place on Hagley Park Road.

“My constituents are suffering from manmade water disaster. The first ‘sufferation’ is caused by the lack of water because the piping was damaged by the road; and, the second is flood. On one hand, they have no water and on the other, they have too much,” Phillips told Parliament on Tuesday afternoon.

He said that while he supports

a call for MPs to prepare for disaster relief, there should be a focus on

preventative measures.

“Aside from the money, we need someone to look at what has happened to the normal drainage pattern; because over the years we have approved construction in areas that were flood plagued, we have approved road work which impedes some of the natural drainage and the correction of these deficiencies are way beyond anything at the disposal of any Member of Parliament,” Phillips said.

— Written by Anthony Henry