Motorists were left in gridlock traffic for hours yesterday after flash-flooding occurred in Maraval, Santa Cruz, Diego Martin and along the Eastern Main Road.
In Santa Cruz, fire officers from the search and rescue team were called out to assist a man who was stranded in his vehicle at Hololo along the Saddle Road.
Fire officials said by the time they got to the man, he had already rescued himself. The man, the T&T Guardian was told, after sitting on the hood of his car for some time, waded through the flood waters to safety.
There was also flooding at the Water and Sewerage Authority sub-office in Santa Cruz as the river nearby overflowed.
There was bumper to bumper traffic along Saddle Road into Maraval where there was more flooding.
Videos posted on social media saw roadways gushing with water.
Businesses at Royal Palm hotel, in Maraval, were flooded and workers were seen sweeping water out of the various establishments.
In parts of Diego Martin motorists took the chance to drive through the flood.
Motorists were also stalled after attempting to navigate through the flooded streets.
In Morvant cars parked at a primary school were submerged in flood waters as well. There were reports of landslides and fallen trees in some areas of the country.
The Met office issued a bulletin stating that due to rainfall associated with the passage of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) major rivers were approaching threshold levels including the Caroni River.
The bulletin forecasted that rainfall is expected to continue into tomorrow.
“Citizens in general, and those residing in the Caroni River Basin in particular are asked to be on the alert for rising river levels and possible overspill. All necessary measures must be taken to preserve life and property,” meteorologist Albert Alexander said.