‘We’re not ready’
Fear grips Beryl-battered Flagaman in St Elizabeth as Tropical Storm Melissa looms
Published:Saturday | October 25, 2025 | 12:06 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
As dark clouds gather once again over Jamaica’s southern plains, a sense of dread hangs heavy over the farming community of Flagaman, in St Elizabeth, as many residents who barely survived the fury of Hurricane Beryl say they remain defenceless. They say their houses are still damaged, their crops destroyed, and their hopes battered like the damaged zinc sheets that grace their homes.
For 52-year-old farmer Micah Williams, every rumble of thunder now stirs painful memories of the night his roof was torn away.
“Right now I can’t make any preparations because I have nothing,” he said, his voice tight with worry. “Everybody else battens up, but I can’t because I don’t have anything to do it with.”
Williams recalled that after the previous hurricane, he spent 120 days living on his veranda, using scraps of old zinc to keep off the wind and rain. This time, he says, the fear is worse because he knows exactly what it feels like to lose everything.
“I’m just living in fear now that another storm is coming and I don’t even have food to eat,” he admitted. “Mi cyaan even continue mi farming right now.”
In Flagaman, the fear isn’t only about wind and rain, it’s also about where to go when the next storm strikes.
Businesswoman Mitchie Hewitt says the community has no official hurricane shelter, leaving residents anxious and unprotected.
NO PLACE OF REFUGE
“Over there should have been the community centre,” she said, pointing to a mangled building in the Flagaman square.
“There’s nowhere for anybody to go if another storm comes.”
Hewitt further explained that the nearest shelter, Pedro Plains Primary School, is almost two miles away, a difficult trek for the elderly, mothers with young children, or those without transportation.
“During the last hurricane, some people had to beg others in the community to put them up,” she explained. “If the Government could come and do something about it, that would be great for the people here.”
Black River Mayor Richard Solomon said the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation has inspected all official shelters and is aware of the specific challenge facing Flagaman.
“All our shelters have been inspected, but we are having one or two challenges, especially in the area of Flagaman, which is a little distance away from the citizens who would need to access the identified shelter,” he told The Gleaner.
He further explained that efforts were made to secure suitable buildings locally, but that options fell short.
“We explored all the possible facilities. Unfortunately, we are still picking up the pieces from Hurricane Beryl. We reached out to churches, but their own assessments found their structures unsuitable. The health centre will be used as a command post, so it can’t be used as a shelter,” he said.
Despite the setbacks, Solomon said the corporation is preparing to provide transportation to move residents safely to nearby shelters if another storm threatens.
“For the future, we’ll have to see how best we can address this. But for now, we’re prepared to assist with transport to shelters closest to them,” he said.
When Hurricane Beryl struck on July 3, 2024, it left a trail of devastation across St Elizabeth, ripping off roofs, tearing down power lines, and flattening entire fields laden with crops.
The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) reported that 257 utility poles toppled across the parish. The Ministry of Agriculture reported an estimated $4.7 billion in agricultural losses islandwide, with St Elizabeth taking the heaviest hit with crops of tomato, pepper, melon, and plantain farms decimated.
In response, the Government launched a $700 million relief package for farmers, and through the Rebuild Jamaica Initiative, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security disbursed more than $1.5 billion in housing assistance to families islandwide.
Still, in rural pockets like Flagaman, recovery remains painfully slow.
“We appreciate the help that came, but not everybody gets through,” said Hewitt. “Some of us still waiting, and hurricane season is not done yet.”
For Williams, each gust of wind brings back the sound of zinc tearing from his roof and creating the type of anxiety he could well do without.
“I’ve been through this before,” he said quietly. “I just don’t know if mi can manage again.”
Across Flagaman, that same fear echoes from yard to yard, a reminder that while storms like Beryl may have passed, recovery remains tedious, if not out of reach.