Hundreds of residents of flood-prone communities along the Caroni River Basin breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as flood waters which left them marooned in homes for the entire New Year’s long weekend began to recede.
When a news team from the T&T Guardian drove through Madras Road in St Helena and parts of Caroni and Las Lomas, yesterday most of the murky water which surrounded the communities had already drained off.
Only a handful of residents were seen cleaning their properties of debris. Many others started off their day power-washing their yards.
The only homes that were seen to be still surrounded by water were those located close to large drains and tributaries which still filled almost to capacity.
“It was not as bad as the last three times last year. The water drain off fast once the rain eased up,” one resident said.
As on a previous tour of the community on Sunday, residents complained that the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) failed to visit and assess the damage.
They also said that they were sceptical of applying for flooding relief grants through the Ministry of Social Development due to past experiences last year.
“We sign up in the ministry but we never get anything, but people in the area who house barely get any damage get,” one woman said.
Some residents said that they had grown accustomed to the flooding and had taken some precautionary steps to protect their electrical appliances and furniture by placing them on concrete blocks or elevating the main access points to their homes.
However, they admitted that they all suffered repeated losses during three major floods last year.
“We could usually gauge when it going to flood but this time the water started to rise in the night (Saturday), so we could not do much,” teenager Nazir Mohammed said.
The residents called upon the Government to introduce long-term measures including widening and regular dredging of rivers and tributaries.