WITH the eyes of Jamaicans seemingly laser-focused on the south-western end of the island which was devastated by Hurricane Melissa, Mayor of May Pen Joel Williams is seeking to turn the spotlight on sections of Clarendon which were also ravaged by the Category 5 storm.

“The impact is great and, unfortunately, there are many Clarendonians who are journeying all the way down to the west [of the island to participate in relief activities] not knowing fully well that their own backyard is devastated,” Williams said Friday while speaking as a guest on the Serenity Resource Connector Platform.

The World Bank last week released preliminary data from the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) which put the damage to Jamaica by Melissa at US$8.8 billion.

That list, as expected, showed the major damage recorded in the south-western end of the island, with St Elizabeth topping the list with total damage of US$2.3 billion.

Clarendon is eighth on the list with total damage of US$319 million and Williams has pointed out that the impact of Melissa on the housing stock and farms in several communities is of concerning proportions.

According to Williams, some 13 to 14 communities in the hills of Clarendon have been ravaged.

“In the northern belt of Frankfield, Victoria, Bloomwell, Sunbury, Croft’s Hill, Union Town, all of those areas have been badly hit by this Hurricane,” said Williams in relation to the system which made landfall in New Hope, Westmoreland, on October 28 unleashing winds of more than 185 miles per hour and torrential rains.

“A lot of people believe that because nothing happened on the plains — Mitchell Town, Rocky Point, and those areas went unscathed — nothing here was impacted. I just want the listeners to understand that that is not so, our housing stock in the hills of Clarendon was badly damaged,” said Williams.

According to the concerned mayor, preliminary assessments revealed that some 2,000 householders suffered damage to their dwellings while the farming belt, a critical contributor to the local and international food market, has been brought to its knees.

“Our farming belt — and again a lot of people don’t understand that without the northern belt [of Clarendon] the May Pen Market would be empty. Without the northern belt Coronation Market would have been impacted severely and so the cost of food supply would be rising. In relation to livestock, it took a heavy beating in those areas in the Bagwell area, in the Kellits area, Brandon, Longwood, all those areas have been badly hit.

“As it relates to farmers who have lost their animals [we were hit hard]. The impact has also been great on small shopkeepers because you would be aware that without electricity these small shopkeepers would have to close shop,” Williams added.

The mayor said relief efforts are ongoing using a multi-pronged approach to assist residents, many of whom are without electricity and whose communities were more or less marooned in the days after the weather system passed.

“I have been in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, with the Jamaica Defence Force, with the Social Development Commission (SDC), and there is a three-pronged approach that is now in operation because the JDF continues to roll out going into various communities. For example, the Smithville area was blocked off for about one week before any food could get in there because of road slippages. Those areas were opened after the first week and so we were able to get food supply in there by the JDF,” Williams said.

The mayor argued that it is important for the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) to come to the aid of farmers in the area who he said have been doing their best to pick up the pieces until help arrives.

“What we do need now, though, is for RADA to come in and to step up their end of the bargain to start to help the farmers. Mind you, the farmers have already started their own rehabilitation of their farms. Up to yesterday [Thursday], I did a tour…and you would be amazed to see what the farmers have done thus far, not waiting on Government or any individual to come and hold their hand for them to start to rebuild their lives, and they are doing a tremendous job in putting back their farms together,” Williams shared.

He pointed out that the restoration of the farms in Clarendon is key to Jamaica’s food security.

“One of the things I did not know is that a lot of exporters go into those areas on a weekly basis to purchase food supplies for export. And I had to say to myself, the Jamaican economy, especially the food basket economy, is not only providing for our local consumers, but also for overseas consumers.

“Our local farmers in the hills do provide supplies for as far as Kingston and for the tourists and hotel industry. So it is that important that we get the agriculture sector up and running,” the May Pen mayor declared.

He said for farmers who were not registered with RADA, either out of ignorance or accessibility issues, arrangements are being made to correct this.

“We have a number of areas that we are looking at, and the RADA representative from the main office will be going into those areas and will be registering those farmers, whether you are livestock farmers or you are ground provision farmers, right across the spectrum to make sure that they are in the loop and they are able to get the assistance that is necessary, because it is very important that RADA is able to move quickly to get our productive sector back up and running,” Williams added.

In the meantime, Williams paid homage to the resilience of community members and people in the Diaspora who have contributed to rebuilding efforts.

“On my tour I found a number of them who started to rebuild their homes. I must say thanks to those who are overseas who are helping to repair basic schools that have been partly damaged to put back our youngsters in classes.

“I visited one area [Thursday] where the roof of the basic school went and I must give credit to the principal who was able to get two tarpaulins and have it on the roof and have 24 students back in class. I gave my heart out to her for that kind of initiative and that kind-hearted response to the little ones,” Williams said.

He acknowledged that the road to total recovery will be a long one for the people affected by Melissa in Clarendon.

“Yes. It’s a lot and we’re a long way from being where we want to be. It’s just a month in and still a lot of work to be done, but I must give credit to them for they have picked up the pieces and they started to run not waiting, and that’s what is amazing. Restoration is moving at a pretty good pace,” declared Williams.

One of the many houses in James Hill, Clarendon, damaged during the passage of Hurricane Melissa.

Several properties in Toll Gate, Clarendon, were left flooded by the Category 5 storm.

WILLIAMS…A lot of people believe that because nothing happened on the plains — Mitchell Town, Rocky Point, and those areas went unscathed — nothing here was impacted.

Corn Piece, Hayes, Clarendon, in the aftermath of Melissa