Apart from battling the floodwaters in their yards, as they recede, they are faced with a new problem: silt. Mounds and mounds of it.
On Thursday, tractor operators were busy trying to clear the Chalky River of some of the silt washed down from the hills of east rural St Andrew, which has been experiencing landslides in recent weeks because of rainfall.
Some of the silt had been lodged in residents' yards on Weise Road.
Linwood Stephenson suffers from the effects of a virus which weakens his legs, forcing him to use a walker to move around. He said that, since last Saturday, he has had to stay inside, not able to go out to sell cigarettes - the way he makes a living these days.
"From I come in Saturday, I don't go out back. I can't come out. If the dirt doesn't clear up, I can't go out because is a walker me move 'round wid," he told The Gleaner on Thursday.
"When the rain was falling, I never know is much muck come inside of the yard until I went out to the front. Some people had to walk around the back to come and check on me, and dem realise seh mi still laying down and mi tell dem seh everything ok, because no water never come in a di house. It just run through the yard," he added.
Another resident said that the overflow of silt is caused by the gabion baskets made with galvanised wire to prevent erosion being destroyed during a works operation in the river.
"When the water pressure come down, no basket never deh deh fi bounce off di water, suh it just come through the grind," he said. "Di whole a yah suh was high dirt. One car did in a my yard and we affi dig it out and tek it out. Water run from next door and came through our fence and tek charge inside."
Further east, in Eleven Miles, Bull Bay, St Thomas, David Marshall, who operates a small shop, pleaded for authorities to come to his rescue as he and his neighbours' place could soon fall into a gully, as the land is being quickly eroded.
"In yah did flood out last week and I had to draw out everything. This week now, it nuh really flood because we build a little retaining wall, but we woulda love dem come do something fi yah suh, because it dangerous to people a travel in a vehicle, because now this is a wide piece of gully. If a man a come inna night and nuh realise, him a go over deh," he said. "Water a tear weh di gully and di yard dem and everything. If we get a next rainfall, we are in trouble."
The road at North Pond View in Pamphret, St Thomas, is now badly damaged, filled with potholes and stones because of floodwaters, according to the residents.
"Whenever it rains, it floods. For the 10 years I have been here, we have had rain several times and we still could drive on it, but, as you can see, we can't drive on it," a resident pointed out. "There is no way at all. It is very difficult."
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