Heavy rainfall in Jamaica causes major flooding in Spanish Town

Jamaica: Heavy rainfall on Tuesday caused major flooding in a few parts of Jamaica, especially in Spanish Town, St Catherine. Following the rainfall, several abandoned vehicles could be seen in the vicinity of Brunswick Avenue.

The Meteorological Office of Jamaica said that isolated showers and thunderstorms will be affecting western and central parishes during the next day.

According to the information, sections of St John’s Road were flooded during this heavy downpour, while in Spanish Town, Morrison Street and Young Street were flooded.

Several vehicles were reported to be stalled while some motorists parked to await the water runoff. Motorists were also forced to divert through the Red Pond community to reach their home.

A citizen noted that he didn’t had any other way to reach his home so her had to go through Red Pond which took him a lot of time than the usual.

In addition to this, along the Red Pond Corridor, young men were dressed in water boots as they helped many motorists whose vehicles were stalled. One man said to a driver that he was help him pushing the car out of the water.

Also, in the Old Capital of Jamaica, several businesses drew their shutters while several people used piazzas to take shelter. 

As the images of the blocked roads with rainwater circulated across social media, the citizens of Jamaica did not blame the heavy rainfall, but they blamed the government for not clearing the drains. 

“Noncleaning and maintaining of gullies and poor drainage system cause this,” wrote a user named Paulette Jackson, while another user said, “This should encourage people not to throw garbage in the drains and gullies.”

“Why are our roads looking like ponds? This needs to stop because it jeopardizes both motorists and pedestrians. This is Ludacris,” wrote another user named Shirnett Brown, calling out the government to take some effective measures against this system.