Scores of students were marooned at Tableland yesterday after the Ortoire River broke its banks, throwing residents into a panic as they tried to salvage valuables. While the floods rocked her washing machine, which was stacked under her home, resident of Gafoor Trace, Donna Mohammed, tried to save kegs of drinking water from being swept away. She said the flood waters rose rapidly after an hour of consistent rainfall.
"Everytime it rains like this, the water comes up. They need to clean the Ortoire River," Mohammed said.
Kenneth Seepersad said more than seven houses were affected. He noted children were unable to get home because of the flooding. Students Vijai Lalchansingh, Amrit Sampath and Daniel Latchmansingh stood in their school uniforms waiting for the flood waters to subside. Lalchansingh said usually the water took over three hours to subside.
Another resident, Peter Gomez, who took a chance to cross the floods, said the authorities needed to act swiftly to help the residents of Gafoor Trace. He noted that more than 16 households were marooned because of the flooding. Gomez said the tunnel which ran under the bridge at Gafoor Trace could not accommodate the heavy flow of water. (RS)
