Near miss!

A man narrowly escaped death, a woman was injured, and more than a dozen residents were left homeless after two massive trees fell and damaged at least five homes on Walkers Avenue in Gregory Park, St Catherine, during Hurricane Melissa’s passage on Tuesday.

The incident left residents shaken as they recalled scrambling for cover when hurricane-force winds toppled trees – including one reportedly more than 30 years’old that had withstood previous storms. One tree destroyed three homes; the other allegedly damaged two.

Clive Evans, a National Honours and Awards recipient and employee at The Gleaner Company Media Limited, said he had been lying on his bed just 20 minutes before a large guango tree crushed the roof and walls of his home, destroying the bed he had been resting on. The incident occurred around 2 p.m.

A woman in a neighbouring house was injured when branches pinned her leg as she sat on her bed. Neighbours rescued her, and she was treated at Spanish Town Hospital and released later that afternoon.

“Me escaped death. I’m telling you. I escaped death,” Evans said, recalling how he felt compelled to leave his house in the rain to feed breadfruit to horses at a nearby stable. “I just got up and started walking. The whole time I was walking I’m getting wet, but there was something in me pushing me to keep going.”

Twenty minutes later, he received a call from his spouse telling him their room had been destroyed.

“My room is completely mash up. You can’t see the bed, it broke in two pieces, and everything else under there got pinned down. A death this!”

Evans said he shuddered at the thought of surviving the impact.

“I would just have to suffer, because no manpower could have come and taken up the branches off of me.”

He lost several appliances and his cell phone while racing home on his bicycle. He said he won’t know the cost of repairs until the tree is removed.

His neighbour, 46-year-old Tracy Howard, showed her bandaged leg and said she now has nowhere to stay. A key to her mother’s nearby house was lost in the rubble.

She now has nowhere to stay, and a key that could have been used to access her mother’s house nearby for the night was lost among the rubble, she said, crying as she asked for help.

On Tuesday, the destruction was evident: downed zinc fences, tree limbs, and debris littered the lane. Amid the chaos, residents shared drinks and cigarettes in the rain, trying to lift their spirits. Similar scenes played out across Gregory Park.

Inspector Roderick Brown of the Gregory Park Police Station said the Walkers Avenue incident was the most severe in the area. His team worked throughout the day to maintain order and assist those in need.

“And I just want to commend the team for an excellent effort. I think they are among the hardest working in the area,” he said, pledging continued support during the recovery.

Meanwhile, Tanisha Williams said she was in her bar when she heard the second tree begin to creak. As she ran, it toppled and slammed into her home behind the establishment. On Tuesday, she pointed to her damaged roof, saying the room was no longer suitable for sleeping.

She and other affected residents are appealing to the authorities for help to rebuild.

corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com