Robert Lalah, Staff Reporter
Stephanie Thompson, a resident of Taylor Land in Bull Bay, St. Andrew, stands before two of several houses that were blockaded after Hurricane Dennis dumped debris on the community last week. - RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
THOUSANDS OF giant rocks, weighing in excess of a hundred pounds each, rained upon the Taylor Land community of Bull Bay, St. Andrew, Thursday night, when the torrents and tumultuous flood waters associated with Hurricane Dennis broke open a nearby gully.
When this happened, residents said water, rocks and dirt went gushing into the community at lightning speed, destroying everything in their path. Debris trapped residents in their homes well into the following day when they finally received help getting out.
A Gleaner news team went to Taylor Land yesterday and found that in the entire community - every house, shop and shack had been either completely or partially covered with the giant boulders.
The newly formed mountains of rocks rose to heights in excess of thirty feet in some places.
Residents were seen covered with mud from head to toe, digging through the rocks like archaeologists on the hunt for fossils - only they were on the hunt for their homes.
Stephanie Thompson, one of scores who lost all possessions, described the frightening seconds just before the rocks invaded the community and crushed her small home.
The portly woman said she was awakened by a loud rumbling noise about three o'clock Friday morning. "Mi bawl out 'Jesus save mi now' and run under the bed!" she recalled.
Thompson said that while clutching her Bible and whispering a prayer under the bed, the smell of mud got more intense by the second. It was then that she realised she needed to run - and run fast.
"Mi jump through the window and look down the gully and see the rocks dem coming with a vengeance. Mi start scream and run away in the other direction!" she exclaimed.
TERRIFYING SOUNDS
As heavy rains continued that pitch black night, Stephanie ran out into the cold, straight to a nearby church where she hid under a church pew. While there, she said she heard the terrifying sounds of her neighbours screaming and babies crying. She said she was unable to hold out any longer - she broke down and cried uncontrollably.
Residents of the submerged community say they do not know what their next move will be - for now they are concentrating only on coming up with a plan to uncover their homes and their belongings.
