“Half marooned” is how one resident of Kent Village in St Catherine described the community’s situation after the passage of Tropical Storm Rafael.

“We are about 40 per cent good,” said the man when Observer Online visited around midday Tuesday. “We are half marooned.”

The major concern of that community member was that residents were cut off from the neighbouring towns.

Kent Village sits on the banks of the Rio Cobre near the Bog Walk Gorge. During heavy rains, the gorge is often closed to vehicular traffic for the safety of motorists, as the road becomes impassable. With no public transport running and the clinic located in Bog Walk, access to healthcare is making some residents anxious.

“What are you offering? Pills or medication?” asked one man, mistaking the Observer team for government officials.

He was among a small group of people gathered in a local bar engaged in a game of dominoes even as rain from Rafael continued.

Throughout the storm, the district experienced light flooding on its roadways as well as water damage. The very bar that residents had chosen to shelter in had water seeping along the floor from outside, and dripping from the roof, so too did homes in the area, according to locals.

“With this excess amount of rain, a lot of people’s belongings got wet,” another resident explained.

The area was also subject to landslides, a showering of rocks and debris tumbling down onto the winding roadway during Observer’s visit to the area. It left sizable rocks scattered along the pavement which is bordered on one side by the Rio Cobre and the other by bedrock which is prone to slippage.