Freak storm damages roofs in Phantiland

The roofs of a church and a house in the farming community of Phantiland in St Elizabeth were extensively damaged by heavy winds associated with a freak storm yesterday.

The heavy winds, which started sometime after 1 p.m. accompanied by lightning, sent several residents of the area scampering for cover as zinc from the roofs went flying.

According to a resident of the community, it reminded him of Hurricane Gilbert in September of 1988.

“I was outside cleaning up the garden when I heard a sudden crackling sound. When I looked up, I saw sheets of zinc sailing through the air and I just had to lay down because if I did not, my head would cut off,” said Michael Williams, otherwise called Tweety Bird.

He further stated that after the storm, the community immediately rallied, gathered up the zinc sheets and quickly replaced those which were blown from the house.

They also assisted in replacing those which were removed from the church. They also used building blocks to add support to the zinc.

This is the second such incident in the north eastern section of St Elizabeth over the last four weeks.

In July, a freak storm in the Siloah community damaged a shop, downed trees, and disrupted the electricity service to the Windsor Housing Scheme when a tree fell on power lines.

A senior representative from the JPS has called on householders to trim all trees around their homes and, where trees are located close to power lines, contact the JPS for assistance in having them trimmed.