Residents and businesses in Port Maria, St. Mary comb through dirt and debris following flooding the the parish capital on Tuesday.
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Port Maria Mayor Richard Creary and Parish Manager Charmaine Whyte-McFarlane
The losses are mounting in St. Mary in the aftermath of heavy rainfall over the last two days.
Richard Creary, Chairman of the St. Mary Municipal Corporation, says the damage is significant and estimates that the repair bill will amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.
The extent of the damage emerged on Wednesday as clean up operations intensified at homes, businesses and along streets in the capital, Port Maria, where the rains wreaked havoc.
Radio Jamaica News spoke with Mayor Creary on Wednesday afternoon as he toured the Port Maria Arcade where a number of shops were flooded.
"This is the worst flood I have experienced in Port Maria, and Port Maria is where I was born and grown.... I am 52 years old now and I have never seen this before," he explained.
Unlike previous instances of flooding that have affected only certain areas of the town centre, the mayor noted that this time the flooding was more extensive, affecting the entire town.
He believes that inadequate drainage compounded by the expansion of informal settlements resulted in the massive flooding in the parish capital.
"Port Maria is below sea level, so we have drainage issues. There are some particular drains that have been built [from] probably before I was born. Now you have more houses, more water being sent into the town of Port Maria," the mayor reasoned.
He added that a pond that would have collected water and prevented flooding of the town in the past has been captured and "persons have dumped up that area so there is no catchment area for the water".
Mr. Creary said while businesses try to salvage items from the damage, an assessment is underway and the government has promised to provide grants to small business operators who suffered losses.
The Ministry of Social Security is to provide relief supplies, such as mattresses and food, to residents in a number of flooded communities including Warner Street and the Port Maria housing scheme.
Parish Manager Charmaine Whyte-McFarlane said three teams from the ministry have been assessing the damage.
While she could not give a timeline, she said the residents will also receive monetary assistance.
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