Port Maria businesses, residents on edge as Melissa nears
Published:Thursday | October 23, 2025 | 12:07 AMGareth Davis Sr/Gleaner Writer
Residents and business operators in Port Maria are bracing for possible flooding as Tropical Storm Melissa threatens to dump heavy rainfall across Jamaica, raising fears of a repeat of past disasters in the flood-prone town.
The looming storm, which is expected to start impacting Jamaica as early as today, has stirred anxiety among residents such as Abbygail Ottar, a bartender whose business was devastated by severe flooding in 2011, 2013, and 2023.
“Right now mi a fret because if this storm really come and we get heavy rain, a one more wash out again,” Ottar said.
She also expressed concern that the effects of a storm could set back small business operators.
“It a go set us back a whole heap and with Christmas around di corner, it really nuh look good for small business operators like me,” she said.
The bartender noted that Port Maria “is probably below sea level”, making it especially vulnerable to storm surges and blocked drains, but expressed hope that the authorities’ mitigation plans will reduce the impact.
“We just have to hope and pray that whatever works the authorities plan to do ahead of the storm will be enough to alleviate the flooding. But we also contribute to the problem by dumping plastic material in the drains and gullies. So the human aspect of it has to be held responsible for the conditions of the drains,” she added.
Other business operators in the Port Maria bus park, including Marcia Grant, Venice Hall, and Tamika Thomas, say they are also preparing for the worst.
“The last time fishermen had to use boats to sail throughout and perform rescue missions all over. The water level rose to more than four feet inside the bus park yard and it was muddy all over. It took us almost a week to clean up and then reopen for business days after the clean-up,” Grant recalled.
On Wednesday, several fishermen were seen bringing their boats ashore, citing unsafe conditions at sea due to high winds and rough waters.
Meanwhile, Mayor of Port Maria Fitzroy Wilson said a full assessment of the town’s drains has been completed and emergency funds have been released to start immediate cleaning.
Wilson noted that similar drain cleaning efforts carried out last year helped prevent major flooding.
“This time around I am hoping that the drain cleaning work, which started on Thursday, will be able to handle the volume of water expected from the impending storm.”
Evan Thompson, director of the Meteorological Service of Jamaica, disclosed that Tropical Storm Melissa, which developed over the central Caribbean Sea on Tuesday, is “generally” moving westwards and could make “a slight curve” that could take it “closer and closer to Jamaica over the next few days”.
“There is a good chance that the system will develop into a hurricane. That is what is expected,” he said, noting that eastern and southern parishes are likely to be most impacted.