While most people snuggled under the warmth of their sheets around 1 am yesterday, residents of Chester Street, Debe, were cold and wet as flood waters rose in their homes for the third consecutive day.
For Doodath Sieunarine, 59, his wife and son yesterday’s showers just caused the flood water inside their home since Sunday to climb higher.
Instead of slippers, the Sieunarines have been wearing tall boots to wade through their home since Saturday’s flood.
Their home and several others have been affected either directly or indirectly by floods since Saturday but that has been a recurring problem since the beginning of the year.
Residents said the flooding began when a landowner started work at the back of their homes.
Sieunarine’s wife, Vidiawatie, said: “The garage water went down (on Sunday) but it remain in the living room so when rain comes it gets higher... to go to the washroom, to go the kitchen, you have to go with the boots.”
She said the rain woke them up.
“The boy (her son) come out to wash the road because the water splashing up and muddying up the wall and the palour. I feel like lying on my bed and crying, just cry all the time.
“Is three days of flooding. This is stress non-stop and is nothing we could do about it and the Government not helping. They not making a drain.”
Leela Sooknanan, a mother of two, said the heavy rain and thunder woke her up.
“We get flood Saturday and twice Sunday. I run out this morning when I hear the rain and I just watch the road to see if the water coming up.
“It full up the road and then come inside by me and full up my cupboards. The hardest thing now is to wash out the slush.”
Another resident, Mohan Boodhai, 66, said he too was up since 1 am.
“When the water come is like the river bank burst. The water come straight inside, the whole outside and under the house had water. And it look like it going to rain again.”
Boodhai expressed concern about the effects the flood could have on their health, especially the children’s.
“This is sickness,” said Boodhai who was also concern about what would happen when school reopens next week.
“If the flooding continues like this the children will not be able to go to school,” he said.
Residents claimed they have lost thousands of dollars worth of appliances and furniture to floods and have received no compensation.
On Saturday, MP Roodlal Moonilal said he was aware of the problem.
He said they were willing to construct a box drain through the corporation but the problem was that the drain had to pass through private land and the owner had refused to give them permission.
Anil Singh, a field officer from Moonilal’s office, called on the Government to help the residents.
“This has been happening for quite a number of months now because of some land filling at the back of their homes. Almost four houses have been flooded out. We are trying to bring relief but hampers are not enough. We are urging the Government to help the MP.”
He also called on the Government to relocate the residents temporarily until they could find a solution.