Memories of the overwhelming Tropical Storm Bret were fresh in the minds of Penal residents as flood waters took over the roads and began entering their properties yesterday. The flooding came less than two weeks after T&T was overwhelmed by torrential rains.
Communities in Penal, Barrackpore, Moruga and Mayaro were bracing for flood damage due to the intense activity of a weather system that drops plenty of rain.
The rains began on Tuesday afternoon and continued to pour up until late yesterday, leaving several rivers along the Penal Rock Road, Rochard Road and Goodman Trace at threshold levels. The T&T Meteorological Service also issued a Yellow Adverse Weather Alert from noon yesterday until tomorrow near dusk. It forecasts a 70 per cent chance of intermittent heavy showers or thunderstorms, which may lead to street and flash flooding and landslides and landslips. Gusty winds are also predicted with the torrential downpours.
In the low lying areas of the Penal Rock Road, Penal, several commuters were left standing under sheds and umbrellas awaiting taxis which could not pass because of flood waters up to four feet high in some areas yesterday. Near Crawford Trace, a long line of traffic backed up as the drains overflowed into the road and only trucks and pickups were able to pass. The Penal Rock Road Cemetery was transformed into a pond.
Residents near Brandon Trace were worried as they recalled the damage they suffered when Tropical Storm Bret passed over T&T in July 2017.
Larry Arjune picked up his children early from school as the water rose near his home. He told Guardian Media that should the rain continue there may be a repeat of last year when his wife and children were awakened at 2 am to the sound of water gushing into their home.
“Tonight (last night) I am definitely not going to sleep. I’ll be on the graveyard shift because this flooding can get worse if the rain continues. After the flood last year, I took measures and cast blocks in front of my door, so I have to walk over a barrier to enter my house. But when the floods came it was knee height,” Arjune said, showing evidence on his phone.
Penal Debe Regional Corporation (PDRC) chairman Dr Allen Sammy said after non-stop rain the earthen drains became saturated and water started to flow into the road. He said cleaning of watercourses was done but not in a comprehensive way.
“While the Ministry of Works may have done the work and the Ministry of Agriculture may have done work, it was not done comprehensively. They could have only done what they could afford, and that is to say when the machines were available and so on. It is not the comprehensive work that was required, so otherwise we continue to flood,” Sammy said.
In Moruga, there was flooding along the Moruga Road in Basse Terre where two families suffered damage to their homes.
Moruga/Tableland MP Dr Lovell Francis, who left Barataria to visit his constituents, said the flooding had already gone down in Basse Terre by the time he arrived there. Francis promised the families help today. At Babsel Corner, La Lune Road, part of the hill collapsed onto the road. Francis said the Ministry of Works and Transport had been notified and will clear the road.
In Mafeking, Mayaro, where residents are still recovering from the recent floods, rivers were on the brink of bursting their banks. The water level of the Mitan River near the Manzanilla/Mayaro Road was also near its limit. There were reports of gusty winds in the area on Tuesday night that blew off the roof of a house. The St Thomas RC School closed early as floods threatened it.
Rio Claro-Mayaro Regional Corporation chairman Glen Ram said rainfall has been plentiful, causing floods in Cham Road, Mayaro, Charuma and Navet.
He said crews were still removing bulk waste and cleaning cesspits in the communities that were recently affected. Ram said the two corporation trucks were overwhelmed and he had written to the PDRC and the Princes Town Regional Corporation for assistance.