WESTMORELAND, Jamaica—Residents of McNeil Land in Westmoreland are lamenting the constant flooding in the community following heavy rains and are now calling for assistance from the respective stakeholders to tackle the issue.

“We [have] a lot of flooding down here at McNeil and the people them can’t come out. They have to pay taxi and the drain them need to clean and a lot of things to do down here at this moment,” a resident said.

Another resident shared that she sought to contact Ian Miles, councillor for the Little London Division, for assistance, but to no avail.
“We are having this problem for the whole year. It’s the worst I’ve ever seen here so. When I go down there, this morning, the water pass me waste and I’ve been calling Ian Miles and I’ve been going to him. And he come here and he see the situation and he’s not doing anything. See, I am a woman and I see me catch up cold here. A 11 pigs me have down there and one mother hog down there. See water gone on them. We can’t go down there tomorrow fi go feed them because we cannot throw down the feed in there because it’s pure water,” she said.

Member of Parliament for Western Westmoreland, Ian Hayles, promised residents that he will make the necessary representation to ensure the problem is fixed.

“Any time we get more than a day rain, McNeil Land is always flooded because it’s in a flood-prone area. I think the question I’ve been asking myself is that can the problem be fixed? And the answer is yes. So I’m calling on central government, calling on the National Works Agency and the Ministry of Local Government to come forward now and make a fix McNeil Land once and for all. And I just want to say to the citizens here, I understand the frustration. I understand what you’re going through. And I understand the inconvenience. But I appeal to you. I’m going to make the necessary representation in ensuring that McNeil Land is fixed once and for all,” he said.