Rain, wind batter northeastern parishes

Heavy rains and windy conditions continued to affect northeastern parts of the country today, even as some towns and communities tried to recover from severe flooding yesterday.

The inclement weather is the result of a trough east of the island which has been dumping showers on most northeastern parishes yesterday, particularly in St Mary, where severe flooding in the parish capital, Port Maria damaged homes, businesses and roadways.

Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Ronald Jackson says the flooding in Port Maria is an issue of spatial planning. He explains that the town is located on flood plains between two rivers and is also below sea level.