Big Pond impassable – NWA

Manager, Communication and Customer Services at the NWA, Stephen Shaw advised in a release mid-afternoon that the Old Harbour to Bartons road is also impassable as the water in the Big Pond has overflowed onto the road.

Additionally, the NWA is cautioning motorists traversing the Bartons to Ginger Ridge route due to landslides.

Moments before the NWA press release, Old Harbour News received an amateur video of a motorist making an unsuccessful attempt to go through the murky waters in the vicinity of Big Pond.

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Elsewhere in St Catherine, Shaw stated that NWA crews are working to reopen the main roads from Zion Hill Bridge to Parks Road.

From yesterday and all of today so far, several NWA units have been dispatched in response to the impact of adverse weather conditions affecting the island.

Jamaica has been experiencing torrential rainfall over the last 24 hours caused by a tropical cyclone southwest of Negril.

According to the NWA the agency has responded to more than 30 incidents since yesterday, including fallen rocks, landslides, flooding, scoured surfaces and breakaways.

Majority of these incidents, Shaw says, are in the parishes of St. Andrew, St. Catherine, Portland and St. Thomas.

However, efforts to reopen some of the affected corridors are stymied by the continuous rainfall which poses safety challenges for work crews in some areas.

Among the roads in St. Andrew that remain impassable are the corridors from Cooperage to Guava Ridge, Papine to Redlight and the Chesterfield Road. Shaw says that the Chesterfield Road, near Seaview Gardens was closed this afternoon, as it posed serious dangers to motorists, due to a scoured out excavated area.

Landslides are impacting the roads from Cooperage to Guava Ridge and Papine to Redlight.

In St. Thomas, the main road from Bethel to Richmond Vale is now impassable. This corridor, which was previously reduced to single lane traffic, suffered further erosion rendering it impassable. Landslides are also blocking the main road from Bowden to Old Pera Road, while falling trees are blocking the main road from Port Morant to Pleasant Hill.

In Portland, the NWA team has reopened the main road from Fellowship to Berrydale. The main roads from Port Antonio to Nunsuch, Wakefield to Hardwar Gap and Hectors River to Muirton remain impassable.