Gustav takes it easy on Trelawny

Richard Morais, Gleaner Writer



Trelawny must be counted among the very few parishes which were spared the wrath of Tropical Storm Gustav.



Reports out of the local office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, through its disaster preparedness coordinator for the parish, Deonne Hylton-Lewis, there were no reports of flooding or blocked roads associated with the system.



However, she said, 137 persons, including the residents and staff of the Falmouth Infirmary, accessed several shelters across the parish. There were 88 at the Hague Primary, 17 at the Warsop All-Age, and 10 at Holland High School. While at the Litchfield and Alts Seventh Day Adventist Churches there were seven, 5 at the Lowe River Church of God and 3 at the Stewart Town Community Centre.



Commanding officer for the Trelawny police, Superintendent Lynette Williams-Martin, said there were no reported incident and according to some residents the police should be commended for their invasiveness.



\"Anywhere mi going inna Falmouth mi see blue light,\" was one of the comments. Other residents said that the police presence drove fear into would-be looters.



Despite all this, the all night storm which peaked about one o\'clock yesterday was most daunting and drew the comparison to Hurricane Gilbert. Some remarked that had it been a category four or five hurricane, it would have been devastating.