Relocation calls from Clarendon

TOLL GATE, Clarendon:

Residents of Decoy Road and White Hall in Toll Gate, Clarendon, say they are willing to be relocated as they are fearful that Tropical Storm Tomas will ravage their communities.

Houses in the communities are still inundated and residents say they are still feeling the after-effects of Tropical Storm Nicole. As such, they say they are not in a position to take any precautionary measures against the impending storm, and that, at this moment, they have nowhere else to go.

Patricia Phillips, a resident of Decoy Road, said she has not been inside her house for the past 38 days as the house is completely surrounded with water.

"Right now, I am staying with a friend up the road and I don't even have clothes to put on. I want to move if I get a house somewhere else," she stated.

The residents say they are tired of their houses being flooded and they don't just want handouts or money, but they want to leave the communities as they cannot continue living in their current environment.

What next?

Marlene DaCosta, of White Hall, said she is clueless as to what to do next.

"My mother and four children live with me and when it rains we have to be running up and down, trying to put our furniture and stuff on blocks, and now a next storm coming, we can't take it anymore. I want even a Food For The Poor house," she said.

Her neighbour, Keisha Clarke, said she was willing to move if the authorities can find a place for her, as her living conditions are deplorable due to the constant flooding.

When asked her next move in protecting her family from Tomas, Clarke stated that there was nothing they could do but watch and see how the storm was progressing and move to the shelter if the water begins to rise.

- Jermaine Francis