KINGSTON, Jamaica — A section of the former Oceana Hotel, which the government leased to facilitate the housing of the Accountant General’s Department downtown Kingston was yesterday flooded during heavy rainfall in the Corporate Area.

A video obtained by OBSERVER ONLINE, shows the office space, which is currently being renovated, inundated with water which appeared to be coming from the roof.

Men, who looked to have been painting, were forced to leave the office, one worker walking on his heels to avoid his clothes getting wet.

A woman could also be seen holding up the foot of her pants to prevent it getting wet by the rising water.

When contacted, Accountant General Carlene Murdock said that they are currently investigating what could have caused the water to come in and also if there was any damage to equipment.

 “The water I am told came in from an opening on the roof [from] the pressure and build up from the heavy downpour yesterday. I was also told that water came in from the window sills,” Murdock told OBSERVER ONLINE.

“I know that we have computer equipment that was damaged, not extensively. It was contained in an area of the office,” Murdock said, adding that they are still assessing the situation.

The building, owned by King Church Property Holdings is being retrofitted at a cost of $478 million.

The AGD is expected to pay $90 million per year in rental.

Finance Minister Audley Shaw, last September, gave a November 7, 2016 timeline for full relocation of the department to the new facility, located at 2-4 King Street, but that process began only last month.

At the same time, more than $40 million in additional funding has been provided in the 2017/18 Estimates of Expenditure tabled recently in the House of Representatives, to complete the build-out of the AGD.

The money, which has been provided from the Consolidated Fund, is expected to be used for the payment of works that have been completed.