Communities in some five parishes across Jamaica were last night plunged into darkness after suffering power outages.

Information received are that sections of St Ann, St Catherine, Hanover, St Elizabeth and St Thomas were without electricity for varying amounts of time.

When THE STAR contacted residents and the police in Ocho Rios, Alexandria, Brown's Town and Bamboo before 9 p.m. last night, all areas were without light and had been that way for about 45 minutes.

Police in St Elizabeth said Black River and New Market were without power between 9:25 and 11 p.m. while authorities in Hanover said that darkness lasted for about half an hour in communities of Lucea and Green Island.

In St Catherine, Southborough, Gregory Park and Indepence City were affected.

Certain sections of the Corporate Area, including Harbour View, were also without power for some time. For the second night in a row, some communities in St Thomas also had no electricity. The power in Morant Bay and Seaforth was out for about 10 minutes.

Efforts to speak to the Jamaica Public Service were futile up to press time.