Morgan unveils drainage study and flood plan for Catherine Hall after Melissa damage

Government is carrying out a full drainage review for Greater Montego Bay while other infrastructure projects continue, with the goal of reducing—or possibly ending—the severe flooding that hit Catherine Hall when Hurricane Melissa struck last October.

Minister with responsibility for Works Robert Morgan made the disclosure on Wednesday as he spoke during the sectoral debate in the House of Representatives.

When the storm passed through, mud and debris from the Montego River entered dozens of homes. MegaMart, a major retailer that took on flood water, has not reopened its Catherine Hall location.

On Monday, the owners of National Baking Company, who are putting up a US$75-million factory in Catherine Hall, told the Jamaica Observer they remain worried about flooding in the district.

“I spoke to the prime minister [Dr Andrew Holness] about [the flooding issue] and I am going to take him at his word because it is a hell of an investment down there,” National’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gary “Butch” Hendrickson told this newspaper on the sidelines of the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference in Montego Bay.

“He said he was going to have a lot of engineering studies and work done. I don’t think they can remove the whole risk; I think they can minimise the risk. But put it this way, how would I get flood insurance?” Hendrickson added.

On steps to ease the threat, Morgan said, “That study is essential because Montego Bay’s future cannot be built on roads alone. It must be built on drainage, storm water management, flood mitigation, and climate resilience.”

“The importance of this drainage-first approach is clearly demonstrated in Catherine Hall,” he said.

Morgan noted that after Hurricane Melissa, technical reviews showed the flooding in Catherine Hall did not stem from a single blocked drain or a one-off failure.

“It was the result of an extreme, multi-hazard event: intense rainfall, unprecedented flows in the Montego River, storm surge effects, sediment movement, debris accumulation, and the limitations of an ageing buried drainage system.”

The works minister said the review recorded more than 350 millimetres of rain within 24 hours, with peak rates of roughly 295 millimetres per hour. The Montego River’s highest flows were put at between 2,132 and 2,653 cubic metres per second—levels linked to a 500-year return period.

“Those flows exceeded the design capacity of the Barnett Street Bridge by approximately 1,200 to 1,600 per cent. That was the scale of the climate reality we are now confronting,” said Morgan.

He said the proposed Catherine Hall Drainage Concept Plan calls for moving away from the current buried network toward an open, lined concrete channel.

“This approach is intended to increase conveyance capacity, make maintenance easier, improve performance in flat terrain, and reduce the risk that sediment and debris will render the system ineffective again. Importantly, the proposed system is being developed in the context of the wider Montego River Flood Control Plan and is designed to preserve the existing levee system, with controlled discharge points and backflow prevention measures,” said Morgan.