Residents of Section in Portland look at a part of the road which had connected the community to Cascade. - LEIGHTON WILLIAMS PHOTOS
CASCADE RESIDENTS ARE trapped in the Blue Mountains of St Andrew. The residents are now marooned after Hurricane Dennis broke away the only road leading into the community.
The Cascade Road is the only road that connects them with the community of Section at the border of Portland and St. Andrew.
Earlier this year, heavy rains associated with a cold front broke away a section of the road separating Cascade.With no date being given as to when work would start to repair the road, residents took matters into their own hands and built a mud road.
Just when it seemed as if things were returning to normal however, Hurricane Dennis drenched the island with heavy rains on July 7 and away went another part of the road, this time closer to Section.
But, Hurricane Dennis' wrath did not end there, as residents claim it also took the road in the Buff Bay Valley about three miles from the breakaway which separates the community. Hurricane Dennis also washed away the dirt road the residents had constructed.
The damage to the road at Section and in the Buff Bay Valley now means that Cascade residents are now stranded and wondering how they will survive when their coffee begins to ripen later this year.
"It was going little by little an' we tell dem about it. Dem all come tek picture. When we wake up di morning after Dennis all a di road gone," explained Claudette Campbell, a resident of the community.
Hurricane Dennis did not just take the only road linking Northern St. Andrew to Buff Bay in Portland, it also washed away some of Campbell's coffee plants.
All told, she has lost at least $120,000. "Coffee is our only source of income and some of my coffee got washed away when the road broke. I lost at least 40 boxes and each box is about $3,000," she said.
That is just the beginning of the woes for this small community. When contacted, Errol Ennis, Member of Parliament(MP) for Western Portland was unable to say when any of the breakaways would be repaired.
"It's up to the various Ministries to fix the road now as there is nothing else that I can do. We have done everything that we can do," Ennis said.
The breakaway at Section has affected the residents more than the others. Unlike the previous breakaway, no dirt road can be constructed as Hurricane Dennis has left a steep drop.
Consequently, residents have had to get their supplies to Section and then pay to have it carried through a farm. When it arrives on the other side a vehicle transports it downhill for three miles.
Narrow footpath
"When we reach here so we haffi walk wid it pon we head and den beg somebody wid a vehicle fi carry it fi wi go down. So it cos' we more. I used to get goods for my shop every week but I have to get it once every two weeks now because it cost me $2,000 extra every time I go to buy," said a resident in the community.
Residents add that they will be unable to transport their goods soon as the vehicles in the area are running out of fuel as they are unable to travel to the nearest service station in Papine, St. Andrew which is at least 40 kilometres away.
Although the residents have cut a path through the farm owned by Owen Marrow, he is livid, as he claims his coffee plants are being destroyed. At the time of THE STAR's visit he was determined to block the narrow footpath that the residents used.
"Mi haffi go block it off. Is either dem a go pay mi fi pass or mi a block it off cause mi coffee plant dem a get destroyed," he said.
THE STAR was told by the residents that their attempts to cut a road through the forests of the Blue Mountains were thwarted by the authorities as the area is a protected one.
The residents are furious that no one has paid them attention but for now the only thing they have been able to do is wait.
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