St Ann faces long road to recovery

Hurricane Melissa has left St Ann in ruins, with homes destroyed, roofs torn off, businesses damaged, and families struggling with loss and uncertainty.

Across the parish, residents are counting their losses while being thankful to have survived the storm’s relentless winds and torrential rain. In many communities, trees fell onto homes, roofs were ripped away, and power lines dangled dangerously – scenes of destruction that will be etched in the memories of those affected.

Ann Marie Young and her children were huddled inside their two-bedroom house in Roaring River, Steer Town, as the storm ripped through St Ann on Tuesday night, praying that the structure would hold. Moments later, three massive trees came crashing down, flattening the house and trapping her daughter beneath the debris.

“Mi daughter say she going inna har room fi lie down, and next thing we hear the tree coming down. Me call har and she say, ‘Mommy!’ but me couldn’t see har. Me just start pray and beg the Lord fi hold di house top and hold di tree,” Young recalled.

Her daughter, Trudian Golding, managed to crawl out through a hole in the debris, but not before sustaining injuries to her leg. She was treated at the St Ann’s Bay Hospital, where doctors placed her foot in a cast.

“Everything in my room gone – bed, dresser, everything,” said Golding, her bandaged foot propped up on one of two beds that survived the devastation.

The family of five is now appealing for help to rebuild.

“Right now we just want somewhere to sleep,” said Young. “The food can come later.”

When The Gleaner visited the area, councillor for the Lime Hall Division, Genevor Gordon Bailey, was making her rounds, surveying extensive damage in communities such as Hermitage, Davis Town, Chalky Hill, Steer Town, and Roaring River.

“To say ‘devastation’ is an understatement,” she said. “Total roof loss, houses flattened. Some residents had to relocate to the Pentecostal Church. It’s really bad. My own office lost its roof.”

She said her office is working to register victims and distribute relief supplies such as food and tarpaulins with the help of the municipal corporation.

“We’re just going to work with the people and do our best to help them return to some level of normalcy,” said Gordon Bailey.

DEEPLY SADDENED

Nearby, Monalee Campbell, a hairdresser and mother of two, looked on helplessly and deeply saddened by the damage caused to her home after a large tree tore through her one-room house on Tuesday evening.

“Everything mash up. Mi heartbroken. Mi sad, mi depressed – everything,” she said, noting that only a refrigerator and a chest of drawers were left standing.

Campbell’s 73-year-old father, David Matthews, who lives nearby, also suffered damage to his home. Water leaked through the termite-eaten plywood and damaged the roof.

“Dis yah storm no bad like Gilbert,” Matthews reflected. “When Gilbert pass, no leaf never lef’ pon tree. No tree nuh left standing.”

He lamented that his house had suffered damage from Hurricane Beryl last year, but that he is still awaiting assistance with plyboard and zinc.

In Drax Hall, some businesses resumed operations yesterday. The plaza there escaped major structural damage, though solar panels on the roof were destroyed.

Elsewhere, in St Ann’s Bay, several shops, bars, and restaurants sustained roof damage and flooding. Mark, a fisherman at the fishing village there, told The Gleaner that while no boats were lost, some fishermen suffered financial setbacks.

“We bring in di boats far, but we never get time fi pull in all di pots,” he said. “A one roll of line cost $36,000, and some men use two or three fi set dem pot.”

At New Pineapple Shopping Centre, a massive tree crashed into the section occupied by Pure Chocolate Factory, destroying the roof and causing water issues.

“The damage is extensive,” said the centre’s co-owner, Robert Chandiram, who noted that operations at the factory will remain at a standstill until the tree has been removed and the damage fixed.

Across the parish, fallen trees and power lines blocked major thoroughfares, including the Ocho Rios main road, where landslides were observed along the road leading to near Dunn’s River Falls.

Members of the Specialised Operations Unit, were seen clearing debris and large trees with the help of residents.

“We’ve been out since 4 a.m. clearing the main roads,” said Corporal Dwain Sinclair while using saw to cut tree trunks.

He said the 16-member Trojan Team, which is awaiting deployment to Haiti has been working nonstop to clear the main thoroughfare in the parish.

Matthew Samuda, member of parliament for St Ann North Eastern, toured affected communities including St Ann’s Bay, Priory, Windsor Heights, and Roaring River, and described the destruction as “widespread and heartbreaking”.

“St Ann’s Bay has the worst roof damage,” he said. “The community faced three hours of hurricane-force winds. We have entire areas like Shaw Park Heights where all 37 roofs are gone.”

Samuda said public infrastructure was still being assessed, but confirmed that the children’s home and hospital suffered only minor damage.

He added that while St Ann’s situation is dire, places such as St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Montego Bay, and Trelawny were hit even harder, “the equivalent of a meteorological nuclear bomb”, he said.

“We have a long way to recover,” the minister added.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com