Even as they stacked water-soaked appliances, broken furniture and slushy rolls of carpet outside their homes, La Romaine residents yesterday braced for more flooding as the Meteorological Office warned citizens of more rainfall.
At George and Gail Streets, La Romaine, a CEPEP crew from the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation was busy helping residents power wash their homes and remove bulk waste which was piled high on the sidewalks.
Ramnarine Singh, who lost all his furniture and appliances, power tools, welding plants and groceries, said it was the first time he ever had four feet of water inside his house. Singh said the main drains on the opposite side of his home were blocked up and “a useless box drain” was built in front of his premises.
“I told them this would happen because they raise the new drain and blocked the old drain. The project manager said he is an engineer and he knows what he is doing,” Singh said.
His wife, Dhanrajie, was trapped inside a room by the floods and had to be rescued by her son Vishal Singh.
Another resident, Brent Phillip, said the new drainage project was not responsible for the flooding. He said a resident at the end of the street had narrowed the drain and the water could not flow properly so it entered people’s homes.
Tricia Chapman-Baboolal, who recently moved into her new home, said she also lost everything. Her mother, Monica Chapman, said when the floods came, she and her son, Nigel, braced the front doors and tried to keep the waters from entering but the force of the water tore open the doors, throwing them aside.
“It was very scary. Look at these doors how the water damaged them,” she said.
At Papourie Road, Tricia John Mc Lean was also struggling to clean up her home.
“I have no clothes and no mattresses to sleep on tonight. This kind of flooding is not normal. It is the first time this ever happened,” she said.
Dhanraj Ramkissoon, a foreman at Penal/Debe Regional Corporation, said a team of nine people started working form 6 am yesterday assisting residents to clean up their homes.
“We bailed out water from people’s homes. We are cleaning the drains and using the tractors to carry away the waste. Poor drainage didn’t cause this. It was a flash flood. The big main drain taking away the small drain water but everything flow above the drain,” Ramkissoon said.
The workers cut down overgrown bushes from the roadside and cleared away piles of debris.
Councillor Sheldon Lall said part of the drainage works was not complete and that contributed to the flooding.
Evacuation plan ready for hurricane—ODPM
Despite extensive flooding following 45 minutes of torrential rainfall, CEO of the Office for Disaster Preparedness, Dr Stephen Ramroop, said an evacuation plan remained in place in the event that T&T was faced with a major storm or hurricane.
With more bad weather expected, Ramroop denied that Thursday’s flooding after a short period of rain meant that T&T was not ready for a major hurricane.
“If there is an earthquake we will have problems because of the absence of a national building code but if a storm or hurricane is approaching we will have time to evacuate,” Ramroop said.
He said everyone had a part to play in flood mitigation.
“If you live in an area that is low-lying and seeing neighbours throwing things in the rivers and if your drains are not cleared then floods will come into your property,” Ramroop said.
He said the ODPM and WASA had maps showing flood-prone areas.
“We will come together before the storm occurs and make an indication for evacuation. Once an area is showing signs of flooding, the storm will give us time and so we will advise people to proceed with voluntary evacuation. We have already told people to have their disaster bags packed and know their shelter area,” he said.
He said the Ministry of Social Services would do assessments later.
“The Met Office said 50 mm of rainfall fell in 45 minutes and that was a significant amount of rainfall. The other reason for the floods is poor infrastructural preparations and lack of the understanding that litter clogs drains,” he said.
Ramroop said people must take their own precautions, adding global climate changes would result in more natural disasters.