Heavy rain lashes Portland; downpour results in flooding, power outages
PORTLAND, Jamaica – Heavy rains lashed sections of Portland on Sunday, New Year’s Eve, resulting in power outages, fallen trees and flooded roadways.
Sections of the Rio Grande Valley were affected as fallen trees blocked roads and damaged houses. Among the blocked roadways were a section of Norwich and the Nutall and Canewood roads.
Meanwhile, a fallen tree damaged a house in Stanton. Marjorie Kisson, who occupies the house with her son, recounted the frightening experience.
“From about 11:30 (Saturday night) I feel like an earthquake and from that I don’t drop back to sleep. About three o’clock this morning I hear like something drop on the house and mi son come out and I say to him ‘is the tree come down on the house?’ And him say yes’. Then someone tell me who to call and I call the fire (brigade) and the police,” she told Observer Online.
“The police come about four o’clock, walk around and do what they have to do and the fire (brigade) came and do the same. The lathe inside bus and come down and the house leaking,” she added.
In West Portland, the road at Canewood in Hope Bay was blocked as a bridge at Vinery was flooded. There was also a fallen tree at a section of the Seaview Farm Road.
Banana and plantain farms in the Stanton and Fellowship areas were also left flooded.
There was still light rain in the area up to publication time.
