Pearline Cooke, a resident of McGregor Gully who was affected by flooding during Tropical Storm Gustav, is calling for the authorities to assist the members of the community to fully recover from the disaster.

The zinc fences that have replaced broken walls and damaged houses all tell the story of the catastrophe that occurred along McGregor Gully in South East St Andrew as Tropical Storm Gustav ravished the area last year.

Gustav struck Jamaica with pounding rain and winds last August, its flood waters proving too much for the gully which quickly burst the retaining wall and broke its bank in three places, leaving scores of people homeless.

The Gleaner news team visited the area after nine months and the remnants from the flooding were obvious.

With the new hurricane season now here, members of the community are already planning to evacuate the area.

Audrey Mason, of First Avenue, is proactive in her planning. She said she was well on her way with her preparations to leave the area.

"I already get garbage bags to pack my things in and, as soon as I hear the announcement that a hurricane is coming, I am going to leave," Mason told The Gleaner.

She said she would be elevating her furniture on blocks to protect them from the rushing water, which swept through her home during last year's disaster.

But how safe is that when the five-foot-high water marks on the walls of Bryan Johnson's(name changed upon request) house indicate the level to which the water rose, leaving the occupants with only their clothes.

Becoming tense

Johnson recently said he was becoming tense now that the hurricane season was approaching because he did not want to relive what he claimed was his worst nightmare.

"We are preparing for it because people a fix up them house top and a bar round what them can bar round," he said.

Johnson, along with other men in the area, had helped experts rebuild the wall in the gully, which he said got weak after so many years.

"The wall rotten because a long time it is there, but we fix it so things may be better," he added.

Also on the community members' list of requirements to prevent flooding this hurricane season is a move to clean the gully so the water can run freely.

Pearline Cooke said she took some preventative measures but only God can help her.

"I already nail my house top and strengthen my house walls but me a beg the Almighty fi spare we because we can't manage it again," she said.

nadisha.hunter@gleanerjm.com

One of the houses at McGregor Gully that was damaged during the passage of Tropical Storm Gustav last year. - photos by Nadisha Hunter