Drunk koker attendant causes flooding in Kingston

Jun 08, 2012 News

Early yesterday morning residents of Kingston woke up to an unusual and frightful occurrence – as much as three feet of muddy water in some premises and their general environs inundated.
It was determined that the koker attendant had slept away after drinking with the foreman, thus the resultant flooding as the koker was left open.

The koker which was left open

Some residents had water in their living rooms while others had to deal with it in their yards.
Many residents of Barrack Street who spoke with this publication said the situation was very frustrating since they have incurred significant damage.
“When this water drain off you have to pick up vinyl and carpet, not to mention what happen to the wooden flooring,” one woman said.
The compounds of several Government buildings were also under water up until 11:00 hours yesterday and Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn said his ministry suffered some losses. Minister Benn confirmed that the flooding was as a result of a koker door being left open to the mercies of the high tides. Benn said early yesterday morning he contacted the City Engineer who was very apologetic for the incident which could have been avoided.
Benn said he was informed that both the koker attendant and the foreman had been delinquent in their duties. According to Benn, it was also unfortunate that there was high tide at the time which caused the extensive flooding in the area.
The Minster added that his Ministry suffered some damage as a result of the flood. He explained that several documents which were being stored in the bottom flat of the building were affected as well as air conditioning units and computers. He added that his staff, up to noon yesterday, was still assessing the damage.

An employee makes his way into the Works Ministry compound.

Meanwhile Mayor of Georgetown Hamilton Green has ordered a thorough investigation into the embarrassing incident. At around 18:00 hours yesterday, the Mayor said he was given the preliminary findings and he has since recommended that condign action be taken against those who were at fault. He added that he has also been in discussion with the Union on the matter of disciplinary action.