Tornado-type weather systems tore through Bhagaloo Trace and Dass Trace in Enterprise yesterday, ripping off parts of residents’ roofs and sending them scampering in fear.
The phenomenon began around 2.30 pm when a hot, sunny day suddenly turned ominously dark with thundershowers and gusty winds.
Dass Trace resident Clint Jeffers said he was in his parlour near the recreation ground when he heard a loud noise and saw a “tornado” coming in his direction.
“It ripped off galvanise from the pavilion. I ran into a side street,” Jeffers said, still shaken.
“There were four, one after the other.”
Parts of the roofs of several houses in the area were also damaged.
David Lewis, whose house was damaged, said he was awakened from sleep when his children ran under the bed in fright.
“When I look outside, I saw galvanise flying in the air and the trees lying down. It was real frightening. First time this happened in here.”
Three National Security helicopters circled the area continually, yesterday, after the incident.
In Bhagaloo Trace, single parent Andaline Cyrus stood staring at her roof. “The whole thing gone. All the lath holding it up broke,” she said.
Cyrus, 22, looks after her small son and two little sisters.
Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner, who had opened an office in nearby Chaguanas East yesterday, visited residents.
“Today is the first day I open my office and this happen. This is my baptism of fire,” Warner said. He promised to help Cyrus repair her roof.
Lower down Bhagaloo Trace, Mary Smith was trying to push back in place galvanise blown off a wooden structure at the side of her house. She said she used the structure as her kitchen.
Smith said she was having a shower in an outdoor bathroom when she heard the loud noise. She said the galvanise bathroom also fell apart with the strong winds.
Her 15-year old grandson, Mathew Lewis, excitedly recorded the tornado activity on his phone.
The Disaster Management Unit from the Chaguanas Borough Corporation visited Smith shortly after and gave her a tarpualin.
Nearby, Nakeisha Green and her three children, one an 18-year old boy in a wheelchair, stood silently around their house which had gaping spaces in the roof.
The Disaster Management Team gave the family two mattresses and a tarpaulin.
There were reports that a stage set up at the Couva Children’s Hospital for the opening of the facility collapsed during the thunderstorm.
Met Office: just strong winds
The Met Office yesterday said whereas tornados were possible in T&T, what most likely occurred in Enterprise were strong winds associated with thundershowers.
“The down draft from the storm would be bouncing off different objects and creating a funnel-type cloud with a whirling effect.”
The Met Office said there was a lot of thundershower activity in Chaguanas and the western side of the island yesterday.