CARAWINA, Westmoreland — Confident that recent drain cleaning will help reduce flooding, residents in several flood-prone communities of central Westmoreland say they have no plans to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Melissa.

“When the drain block up, the water come up to my waist and I lose animals. The cleaning of the drain now will help, and I won’t have to evacuate. I can stay and care for my animals,” Carawina resident and animal farmer Hopeton Campbell told the Jamaica Observer Thursday during a visit to the community.

“The whole yard floods out when it rains. We can’t even come out. The water comes from as far as Whithorn and it empty down here in the community,” he added.

Campbell, who raises goats and chickens, lost two goats during Hurricane Beryl last year due to the flooding. He has fashioned a makeshift implement he refers to as a grabber to remove debris from the drains whenever there is heavy rain. He can take a break from that task for now as drain cleaning was under way this week across the Petersfield Division. It was spearheaded by Member of Parliament for Westmoreland Central Dwayne Vaz; Abigail Malcolm, who has her sights set on one day being councillor for the Cornwall Mountain Division; and other members of their team. The work continued despite the recent death of Councillor Patrick Forrester in a motor vehicle crash.

Carawina resident Ainsley Afflick appreciates the effort. He can still recall the severe flooding they have had to endure during past storms.

“I live up the road and the water usually come up to my chest if we get heavy rains,” he said.

“[The drain cleaning] is a good look so far. A pure problem when the rain fall; people a flood out, furniture a get damage,” said Afflick.

The area, which lies along a tributary connected to one of the main rivers in the Water Works area, has long been prone to flooding during periods of heavy rainfall. The politically savvy Malcolm attributed the progress to teamwork.

“I am now in Carawina giving a helping hand to the residents; as you can see, the area is flooded. You have a lot of stagnant water, and we realised the drains needed to be cleaned. We brought in the backhoe, and tomorrow we’ll continue the work before Melissa reaches us,” she told the Sunday Observer Thursday.

Malcolm noted that while flooding remains a major issue in Carawina, the Cornwall Mountain Division faces a different threat.

“Our greatest concern there is landslides,” she said. “None of the residents are prepared to evacuate, but once the drains are cleaned, flooding will be avoided.”

She also praised Vaz for his timely assistance.

“I must commend Member of Parliament Dwayne Vaz; he ensured that the backhoe was here on time. We’re working as a team in Central Westmoreland to take care of our residents,” said Malcolm.

Meanwhile, in Savanna-la-Mar, the parish’s disaster preparedness team was busy preparing shelters for possible evacuees. Oniel Jones, watchman and manager for the shelter at Godfrey Stewart High School, told the Sunday Observer that last year during Hurricane Beryl the facility accommodated more than 40 people.

He explained that the disaster preparedness team usually provides toiletries and bedding made of sponges for residents. Jones said the shelter can comfortably house up to 80.

“It’s really for residents from Russia, Hudson Street, Ricketts Avenue, and Dalling Street, but people from Smithfield, Strathbogie, and Llandilo came last year when their shelters were full. We accommodate them once there is space,” he explained.

Jones expressed concern, however, that many residents wait too late to seek shelter.

“They normally come when the storm start, that’s the problem,” he said. “They don’t try to prepare to come before. It’s dangerous for them and it’s dangerous for me too, because I have to be out there in the storm helping them get inside.”

Mark Kelly, who resides in the Hudson Street community, has no intention of evacuating. He has stocked up on food and says leaving the comfort of his home is not an option. Kelly does not believe the storm is coming and argued that his section of the community typically does not have a major problem with flooding.

“I live up here, and we usually have some flooding and thing, but nothing much,” he told the Sunday Observer. “The people who live further down the road need to leave. The sea usually comes up and flood out the whole a Russia. The crocodile already come up under dem house. That usually happens down there. But I live up here, so I don’t have to leave.”

Another resident, Peter Clarke, who lives within the flood zone of Hudson Street, also said he prefers to stay home. His house is on stilts and he thinks the flood or sea surge will not affect him. He is also confident that the recent drain cleaning will alleviate the flooding that they would have usually had to endure.

“I have seen couple [crocodile] since week , enuh, so I know seh storm a come,” he told the Sunday  Observer. “Dem a seek shelter, but mi have shelter already.”

Godfrey Stewart Shelter Manager Oniel Jones urges people to come to the shelter before the storm hits.

Hopeton Campbell, a resident of Carawina in Westmoreland, says he lost two goats during flooding caused by Hurricane Beryl last year.

A blocked drain in Carawina, Westmoreland, on Thursday.

Flooded yards in Carawina, Westmoreland, on Thursday (Photo: Rosalee Wood Condell)

Ainsley Afflick says heavy rains usually result in flooding in Carawina, which causes children to become ill and residents to lose furniture.