Fisherfolk brace for Melissa’s wrath - Some already losing money because of weather system

Upon seeing the news team, about a dozen young men proudly declared that they were the 'rescue team' in Old Harbour Bay, and would be readily available should anyone need assistance in relation to Hurricane Melissa.

As a group of fishermen pulled a boat from the shore, a few of the youth joined in pushing the vessel to safety. They then proceeded to the shore where they sat looking like supermen hoping to spot a damsel in need. However, just minutes later, when a downpour came accompanied by a heavy gust of wind, the men were the first to scamper off the beach.

Yesterday, the sea had already captured a section of the Old Harbour Bay shore. A number of fisherfolks had already evacuated the space while others remained to secure their property. Some are already counting their losses even before Melissa fully pours her wrath on the island. Businesswoman Sutania Beckford said she is already feeling the pinch as she lost her fish pots at sea.

"Last year I lost them during [Hurricane] Beryl and now they are gone again. Mi have some boats at sea so mi carry them up and secure them in the mangrove. Right now mi a tell yuh say although mi try to secure mi shed, mi might come out here after the storm and see [them] mash up. Last we start over and now again. It ago be really tight, but God a do him thing and we have to allow him to gwan with himself," she said.

Beckford has been conducting business on the bay for close to two decades and said while she has experienced flooding, Beryl will forever stand out in her memory.

"I had to help out a lot and I remember when the breeze started and I was driving off, there was a man who broke down in the wind. We all had to help him and when we finished, we were so tired. As we left, some thunder bolts shook the place," she said. Glenroy Senior, a fisherman, said he is also counting his losses.

"No pot or fish trap nuh deh a sea and it ago take plenty of money. Mi gonna have to have about $1 million to buy back some materials and mi did already spend money after Beryl last year," he said.

As he spoke to THE STAR, the angry waves crashed along the shoreline, and strong gusts tried to lift sheets of zinc from nearby buildings. But Senior said he is not rattled.

"Mi nuh ready fi leave here suh yet, eno. Anytime mi see the first real sign of the storm, a dem time mi a leave. Mi used to dem tings here man. Remember, fisherman face a lot of things a sea, eno. Mi go there in the week and out there still and warm, so dat alone tell you say something terrible out there. But mi nuh ready to leave yet, he said.

Unlike Senior, ground food vendor Ivy Thomas was not taking any chances. As she placed her leftover goods in her vehicle, she stated that she was heading home to Manchester to face the storm.

"The sale never bad today but mi going home now. Mi nuh really prepared for this storm yet but mi building secure. Mi go through a lot of storms but some of them I don't remember, but I remember Gilbert though," she said.