Jamaica may have escaped Hurricane Ivan?s fury, but the damage done was bad enough, Prime Minister Patrick Manning said yesterday.
By Jada LoutooThe island was saved from a direct hit when the hurricane unexpectedly turned to the west, but it still suffered heavy damages as tidal surges swept on to coastal areas, crashing homes and toppling trees.
?Jamaica has been pretty badly hit,? Manning said during a tour of Kelly Village, Caroni, which was besieged by flood waters after Ivan?s backlash left several low-lying areas in central Trinidad under water on Thursday.
He said he spoke on Saturday night to Jamaican prime minister PJ Patterson, who told him teams were out on the island making damage assessments.
There have been unconfirmed reports of hurricane-related deaths caused by fallen trees and blown-away roofs, and Manning said some 12,000 people were left homeless.
Hurricane warnings and watches for Jamaica have been discontinued and the weather continues to improve, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) said in an update yesterday.
The agency said fallen utility poles and trees made roads impassable, damage was done to coastal roads in the east and people were trapped in homes when roofs collapsed.
There were also preliminary reports of widespread damage to buildings and numerous landslides.
Light and water services remain unavailable and evacuated residents from many areas will be returned when road-clearing works are completed.
The T&T Government has pledged assistance to Jamaica which may mainly be in the form of building materials, Manning said.
?Let us see what Jamaica requires,? he added.
CDERA said the Caribbean Disaster Response Unit remains on standby to assist Jamaica.
The Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay has been reopened but the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston remained closed.
There were some reports of looting throughout the country.
However, officials said police killed two alleged looters while four officers were wounded in shoot-outs with armed looters.
