News

Laura Redpath, Senior Staff Reporter

WHAT USED to be a shower stand in a modest one-storey house is now filled with grey sand.

The lewd writings of a regular scribe and young scribe enthusiast litter the walls of what one could assume to be the bedroom adjacent to the bathroom.

What was someone's house before Hurricane Ivan took out the entire wall facing the sea is now an open concept and breezy shelter for homeless people passing through.

This is just one of at least 10 houses showing structural damage on Caribbean Terrace in St Andrew.

The damage includes loose slabs of concrete wrapped around steel frames and collapsed rooms.

Some of the houses were destroyed six years ago, while others took hits from Hurricane Dean in 2007, leaving them uninhabitable for any extended amount of time.

Natalie Whyte has been living in the half-destroyed yet functional community of Caribbean Terrace, next to Harbour View in St Andrew, for 33 years.

"I've been here most of my life and for every hurricane," said the 35-year-old who remembers witnessing the three major hurricanes in recent history to affect Jamaica: Gilbert, Ivan and Dean.

With the current hurricane season in its second month, Whyte said she is concerned about the well-being of what is left of the neighbourhood.

"We're a closely knit community and everyone is family," she said. "When you see the (hurricane) season coming on, everybody gets so depressed. When I walk around, I feel sad," she said..

"Caribbean Terrace is a disaster in itself," said Isaac Nugent, parish disaster coordinator for Kingston and St Andrew.

Known for its vulnerability during hurricanes, Caribbean Terrace has been declared a no-building zone but many residents refuse to leave.

"There used to be sports day, beach parties and a youth club. The community was nice. We don't know any other home," Whyte said.

Her sentiments were echoed by Andrew Lewis, who lived in the community for 11 years before relocating to the United States then Norway.

Lewis, whose mother teaches at Harbour View Primary, said he has been trying to convince her to leave.

Caribbean Terrace, built next to the sea, saw 17 houses destroyed and several persons killed as a result of Hurricane Ivan's force.

Shara Barnett was a resident there when a storm surge breached her house.

By the time she got her wits about her, there were children swimming on land.

However, that has not been enough to drive the residents away.

According to Whyte, the residents have come to accept the place the way it is.

"There is so much you can do and no more," she said, shrugging her shoulders at the thought of state intervention.

"Most people sit down to watch and see what will happen next."

laura.redpath@gleanerjm.com