KEVON FELMINE
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
Most of the floodwaters brought on by heavy rainfall on Friday subsided yesterday in Cedros, but as more rainy weather threatened, residents are stocking up on sandbags.
With mostly sunny conditions in South West Trinidad, only a few yards were still holding water in Icacos. Cedros councillor Shankar Teelucksingh along with the Siparia Regional Corporation (SRC), distributed close to 200 sandbags in Icacos, Fullerton and Bonasse. Teelucksingh said that in some cases, each home received between five and ten bags.
Watercourses spilt over despite a backhoe opening the river mouths in communities that are under sea level. Teelucksingh said the SRC did this since Wednesday following the issuance of an adverse weather bulletin. However, it is a constant task as the high tides usually cause sand to block the river mouths.
“We had to use the backhoes to open up the watercourses to let the water run. There was sunlight today, but in Icacos, we were still getting some stagnant water, so we were dealing with this,” Teelucksingh said.
The SRC also had to restore access to homes after six-eight feet of road washed away. Teelucksingh said the Water and Sewerage Authority recently replaced a line under the road. As water gushed across, it washed away the asphalt. There was also the worsening of a landslip along the 98-mile mark along the Southern Main Road.
Teelucksingh also called for proper monitoring of the public health protocols as he said there are reports of people who are supposed to be at home in quarantine, leaving their homes in Fullerton.
He said Cedros recently had an increase in COVID-19 cases and the movements by some infected residents are of serious concern. Teelucksingh said he called the County Medical Officer of Health's office and got a commitment that they would check into the reports.
“If restrictions are relaxed, we hope people behave responsibly because COVID-19 infections continue. Yesterday, while we were out in the field, people were not wearing their face masks and observing social distancing. We need to have more stringent measures by the municipal police and TTPS to at least have people under home quarantine and residents alike observing the health protocols.”