Longville Park water scare

Jermaine Francis, Gleaner Writer

MAY PEN, Clarendon:

RESIDENTS OF Longville Park Housing Scheme in Clarendon got a scare yesterday after a National Water Commission (NWC) tank containing approximately 300,000 gallons of water collapsed and flooded several houses.

George Allwood, who was severely affected, said when the tank broke, he was in his house watching television. He was alerted by the loud crashing sound and screams. He said he then saw water gushing towards the house.

"I rushed around to the kitchen, closed the back door and one of the babies was lying down on a bed in the room and I had to pick up the baby and rush outside," Allwood told The Gleaner yesterday.

He said the damage to his house would have been worse if he had not closed the kitchen door.

His wife, Heather Allwood, said she had never seen such an incident.

Her neighbour said the sight of the crashing water brought back memories of a scene from the recent blockbuster disaster movie, 2012.

Mrs Allwood said the furniture in her house got wet along with her clothes and a DVD player.

She said the NWC visited her home yesterday and used a power hose to get the mud and debris out.

The NWC has advised the family to document the damage.

Last night Charles Buchanan, NWC corporate public relations manager, said he was aware of the incident but had not yet received a detailed report on the matter. He said, however, that NWC officials had visited the scene to commence an investigation to determine what led to the collapse of the tank and that he was expecting to know more today.