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Gustav Task Force Set Up

Jamaica has now set up a task force to oversee the massive restoration work in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Gustav.

The task force is being headed by Transport and Works Minister, Mike Henry and includes representatives from the National Works Agency, the KSAC, the Ministry of Housing and Water and the National Land Agency.

Most of the parishes have begun some semblance of cleanup and restoration programmes, and people are in general trying to get their lives back to normal in what is expected to be a slow and costly recovery.

Kingston and St Andrew

The country's infrastructure had been at Tropical Storm Gustav's mercy from Thursday to Saturday. The Hope River Bridge in Harbour View, popularly called the Harbour View bridge, the main access point for thousands of people commuting between Bull Bay, eastern Jamaica and the Corporate Area, was cut in two.

There is no alternative route for entering the Corporate Area from that end as Dallas is also impassible.

Shocked residents struggled to hold back the tears as they looked at what was left of their homes on the banks of the McGregor Gully in South East St Andrew yesterday morning.

Metres away, on the bank of the Burgher Gully, it was a similar situation as residents reflected on the damage done by Tropical Storm Gustav.

The flood waters brought by Gustav were too much for the two gullies and they quickly burst the retaining walls before swallowing several homes.

Many more houses were flooded, leaving scores of persons homeless.

Landslides have also been reported in Cooper’s Ridge and Gordon Town in Upper St. Andrew.

ODPEM says a house in Cornfield, Papine has been disjointed as a result of a landslide in the area while two houses in Tavern Drive, Kintyre were washed into the nearby river due to land slippage.

Flooding has also been reported in sections of Deanery Road, Real Avenue in Harbour View, Barbican and Havendale in St. Andrew.

St Catherine

The Old Harbour and St John's roads were also blocked. As the team proceeded to Nightingale Grove, several sections of the toll road were seen flooded.

The Bog Walk Gorge in St Catherine Jamaica is now closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management(ODPEM) is urging the public to avoid this potentially dangerous area.

The ODPEM says the gorge was closed after the Rio Cobre reached a critical point of 11 feet while continuing to rising.

In Ensom City, persons were marooned for several hours, as the Rio Cobre overflowed its banks and dumped several tonnes of water into the area, forcing some persons to evacuate and blocking others in.

St Mary

The districts of Clonmel, Lewis Store and Highgate have all been cut off from neighbouring communities, due to the collapse of the Westmoreland bridge, while two houses in Broadgate have been swept away by the Wag Water River.

St Elizabeth

Torrential rains and gusty winds were the only effects of Gustav in St Elizabeth as there were no signs of flooding in flood-prone areas.

Hanover and Westmoreland

Several roads in Hanover and Westmoreland had been blocked, including the road from Flint River to Cascade, Harvey River to Askenish, and Whithorn to Darliston.

Portland

Gustav left several Portland communities in shambles. Hundreds of residents of Manchioneal, Long Bay and Black Rock were left homeless as Gustav ravaged the areas.

The roadway along the Long Bay main road, which leads into Manchioneal, was left impassable by sand, fallen tree limbs and other debris.

St Ann

In St Ann, several power lines were down and there were reports of some houses being flooded.

Jamaica is expected to continue experiencing bad weather conditions today even as Tropical Storm Gustav moves away from the island.

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