SLEEPING WITH ONE EYE OPEN - Westgreen, Catherine Hall haunted by memories of Melissa as vulnerability remains

WESTERN BUREAU:

At 62, Herman Jackson no longer goes to bed expecting a peaceful night’s sleep. When rain begins falling in Westgreen, he reaches for his water boots, checks the weather on his phone, and prepares to run.

One year after Hurricane Melissa devastated sections of Montego Bay, St James, Jackson remains gripped by fear, his nights haunted by memories of the floodwaters that swallowed his community on October 28, 2025.

“I can’t afford to go and sleep,” he told The Gleaner. “I’m very, very scared.”

Jackson, who has lived in Westgreen for more than three decades, has sought medical attention for sleeping difficulties he associates with the trauma of the Category 5 hurricane.

His experience is shared by residents of Westgreen and neighbouring Catherine Hall, two communities described as Ground Zero after Melissa unleashed catastrophic flooding across sections of western Jamaica.

But, while Westgreen residents live in fear of another disaster, their neighbours in Catherine Hall have continued to experience flooding during subsequent heavy rainfall.

For both communities, Melissa’s anniversary is less about remembering what happened than confronting what residents say remains unresolved.

Jackson’s appeal is neither for money nor material assistance. He wants the drains cleared.

“We don’t need any handout,” he insisted, explaining that, even the leaking roof of his home and the pothole-riddled streets can wait.

“The only thing we need, please, just clear the drainage for us.”

He recalled the terrifying hours when floodwaters surged through Westgreen, forcing residents to seek refuge on upper floors while neighbours screamed for help.

Jackson believes many residents would have died had the flooding occurred during the night.

The devastation continued long after Melissa passed. For months, he said, residents battled mud, debris, rats, mosquitoes and flies.

He said numerous meetings with elected representatives, government personnel and other officials have brought assurances but little of the drainage intervention residents desperately want.

A self-described God-fearing man, Jackson delivered a pointed message to those offering sympathy and prayers.

‘FEAR IS ALWAYS THERE’

“Put down the prayer and clear the drain. After [that], you can take up the prayer if you want.”

C. Maxwell Holness, chairman of the Westgreen Community Development Committee (CDC), said all the residents are dreading another disaster.

“The fear is always there. There’s no way you can get rid of the fear,” he said. “Even [with] slight rain, everything start roll back. It’s a total nightmare.”

Holness contends that conditions along the Barnett River, which contributed to the community’s vulnerability, have not been adequately addressed.

He said the river remains heavily silted, with debris restricting the flow of water, while gabion baskets previously used to protect sections of the riverbank from erosion have not been replaced.

According to Holness, some sections of the river that were previously approximately 10 feet deep are now closer to four feet because of accumulated silt.

He said the CDC has written to elected representatives and raised concerns with persons associated with the Montego Bay Perimeter Road project, but residents remain dissatisfied with the response.

“If you see preventative measures being put in place, those could alleviate all of them fear,” he said.

Holness was quick to acknowledge the assistance provided by government agencies immediately after Melissa, describing their initial response as impressive.

However, he said the momentum appeared to have slowed, particularly regarding compensation for residents whose homes were flooded but whose roofs remained intact.

Many Westgreen residents are retirees who lost furniture, appliances and other possessions accumulated over decades.

He recalled an elderly woman who repeatedly contacted him, desperately hoping assistance would enable her to return to her home.

She died recently without fulfilling that wish.

For Cynthia Headley, who has lived in the area for more than 30 years, the hurricane destroyed more than household possessions. It robbed residents of the pride they once took in their community.

Headley remembers well-maintained properties, attractive gardens and streets, where residents enjoyed the rewards of years of hard work.

Today, she sees damaged vehicles, debris, dust and surroundings that bear little resemblance to the neighbourhood she knew.

“It’s like abandoned, forgotten,” she lamented.

During Melissa, Headley spent approximately eight days unable to leave her home after floodwaters inundated the ground floor, destroying possessions and damaging family vehicles.

She recalled the desperate effort to protect an elderly neighbour as the water rose.

A year later, heavy rainfall sends residents checking the nearby river and communicating warnings about rising water levels.

“Everybody kind of get traumatised and looking out for the worst,” she said, explaining that residents continue hoping for the best.

Headley said the pace of clean-up has been particularly distressing for retirees who spent their working lives building homes they expected to enjoy in peace.

She wants damaged vehicles removed, drainage improved, and the community restored to something resembling its former condition.

At 51, Fredricka Watson is still struggling to replace what Melissa destroyed.

Unemployed and unable to afford many of the household items she lost, Watson recalled months without proper furniture.

“We had no bed to sleep on for months,” she said.

At one point, she recalled, residents had to find old buckets to sit on because their chairs and sofas had been destroyed.

Even clothing she initially hoped to salvage eventually had to be discarded.

Watson questioned whether assistance programmes adequately recognised the plight of occupants of ground-floor apartments and single-storey structures, many of whom lost virtually everything.

Her frustration extends to what she considers the lack of meaningful flood-prevention measures.

“Apprehensive, worried, always on the edge,” was how she described her emotional state whenever rain threatens.

“We feel like they don’t care about us at all, our lives value nothing to them,” she said.

Yet, amid the suffering, Watson acknowledged the kindness of neighbours and voluntary organisations that came to the assistance of those who had lost everything.

She also spoke about the vulnerability of elderly residents, some living alone, and the responsibility neighbours have to look out for one another.

For survivors, the anniversary has reopened painful memories of a disaster that changed their lives.

In Westgreen, residents continue monitoring the skies, keeping water boots nearby and preparing escape plans.

In Catherine Hall, where flooding has recurred since Melissa, the threat is more than a memory.

And, as Jamaica marks one year since the hurricane, the residents are asking for something far more fundamental than sympathy.

They want to feel safe in their homes again.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com