No plans to relocate after sea took home
Published:Tuesday | April 28, 2026 | 12:08 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Seventy-year-old Parotte fisherman Basil Bennett said he stood in stunned disbelief and watched his home collapse under the brutal force of Hurricane Melissa’s Category 5 winds as it ripped through St Elizabeth last October.
“It wasn’t pretty, but I lived it out,” Bennett said, reflecting on the moment his decades-built dwelling gave way to the storm’s intensity.
He recalled that as the approaching hurricane strengthened, normal life quickly turned into survival.
“The morning of the hurricane, I drove my car down the road, where I parked near a shop before the storm started. I was in the car, where I dozed off, and later woke up to realise that the floodwaters carried the car down the road while I was sleeping,” he said.
Bennett said he was forced to improvise as conditions deteriorated.
“I used a water hose to secure the car on a column before making my way to the bar close to my home on the seashore. I was there until after 2 p.m.,” he explained, describing the long hours spent trapped in the chaos of the storm before a relative eventually assisted him to his sister’s home.
By the time he reached safety, everything he owned had been lost.
“I saw when the building dropped and everything was gone – all of my jacket suits, my other clothes, pots, spoons, and everything were gone. Nothing was left. I don’t save anything,” he said of his two-bedroom house, which – with the sea now retreating – now lies in the sand and is being used temporarily as an anchor for boats.
The fisherman said Hurricane Melissa also wiped out his livelihood, leaving his fishing boats and engines severely damaged.
“It’s a rough, rough time. Three of them and their engine were mashed up,” he said.
He said assistance so far has been minimal, with some relief coming only from family overseas and a small allocation of materials locally.
“Right now, my family overseas send back a few clothes come give me ... . The only thing I got [otherwise] was some boards because I told them that my boats were mashed up,” he added, referencing the assistance he received from the State.
Last week, The Gleaner saw signs of the ongoing recovery in Parottee and surrounding areas, including the construction of houses. New structures are rising beside damaged homes, highlighting both resilience and the scale of destruction left behind.
Despite his losses, Bennett’s determination to remain in Parottee has remained unchanged for years – even before Hurricane Melissa.
“I am not moving, not even a foot. Mi nah move out yah,” he responded firmly when asked if he plans to relocate, given the area’s vulnerability to disaster.
“If they are going to pay me the price that I want, they can have it. Once they pay me my price, not what they want to give me,” Bennett added, though not indicating what he considers the right price.
His immediate decision not to want to leave his Parottee community is tied deeply to identity and legacy.
“I was born here. My mother is buried right there,” pointing to a grave in the front of the yard of his sister’s house, where he has since found refuge following the hurricane. “I don’t want to live in Mandeville and those places. This is where I will stay.”