Resident fears flooding in Friendship in Trelawny | News

With the outer bands of Hurricane Beryl battering the island with heavy rain and strong winds, there are concerns the community of Friendship in Trelawny could be cut off if the road to neighboring Wakefield floods.

“My area is prone to flooding because the water gets very high in some places and from here to Wakefield there is a part that can be blocked by water,” said Conesia Ambersley, a resident of Friendship in the West Parish . .

“Once you leave Wakefield and head towards Bounty Hall, there is another part that could be flooded. Also where Muschett High School is close to Wakefield and just before you get to Muschett coming from Montego Bay (in St James) it gets waterlogged during heavy rain,” Ambersley added.

“I don’t know if we can go through the community of Good Hope because they say parts of Good Hope might be flooded as well. We may be abandoned.”

Heavy rain had previously made sections of Wakefield Road impassable, with the community’s main road to Falmouth blocked during rains in 2018 and the corridor to Bunkers Hill flooded in 2022.

In June this year, the National Works Agency undertook a major drain cleaning program along the main Wakefield to Hampden road in Trelawny ahead of the 2024 hurricane season.

The program also included communities in Hanover, St James and Westmoreland.

– Christopher Thomas

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