Phone call saved my life, says St Thomas man
IT WAS a phone call from his sister around 10 o’clock on Saturday night that woke 46-year-old Rohan Foster in time to save his life and that of his tenant and her three-month-old baby.
Foster, who lives along the Yallahs main road in St Thomas, recalled the ordeal that led to his entire house being flooded, damaging most of his belongings.
“I was sleeping when I heard my phone ringing. When I look, it was my sister who was calling. She asked me if I’m all right, and I said yes. Then she said that over my side don’t look so good,” said Foster, who pointed out that his sister lived on the opposite side of the Spring River, a body of water that ran through his backyard.
The river had overflowed its banks and muddy water was making its way through Foster’s backdoor.
“When mi step off a di bed, a pure water mi step inna. Mi rush to di door guh knock up a lady that lives in the house also, and then I began packing my furniture on top of each other,” he said.
Foster told The Gleaner that by the time he was able to evacuate his house, the water had reached chest-high.
At the same time, 30-year-old Sherdene Ferguson, who occupies the other side of Foster’s house, gave her account of what happened.
“When him come knock mi up, I heard him say, ‘Wi inna trouble, enuh!’ When mi look, the whole place full of water. Mi grab a suitcase and mi and my mother, who was there with mi, start pack up all important documents, and so forth,” she said.
Ferguson, who left the house before Foster, said that while she was leaving, the water had reached her thighs.
According to her: “Mi did have to wrap up the baby and get umbrella so that the water nuh catch him.”
Heavy rains, which began on the weekend, have led to flooding in many communities in St Thomas.
Many roads were rendered impassable and communities inaccessible owing to floodwaters and landslides.