kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
With heavy rainfall beating down on several South and Central communities prone to flooding, Disaster Management Units (DMU) are on standby, especially with a landslip threatening to cut off families in Brasso Venado.
There were street floods in communities within the Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo Regional Corporation (CTTRC), Penal/Debe Regional Corporation (PDRC) and Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation (MRCRC) between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday.
CTTRC chairman Henry Awong said the floods were minor and did not affect households.
Awong said the region was not only prone to floods but landslips as well. Several landslips plague the CTTRC, and recent rainfall exacerbated one in Tortuga.
But Awong said a precarious landslip along Telemaque Road, between Flanagin Town and Brasso Venado could leave a village of 300 people stranded if overnight rains were heavy. There is also another along the Caparo Valley/Brasso Road.
He said, “There are two major landslips along that road, and if the rain continues like this, very shortly, that road can cut off,”
Meanwhile, the PDRC is on high alert for flooding as river levels were high yesterday.
Following advice from its DMU, the PDRC sent workers who live in the Barackpore and Penal Rock Road communities home early as those areas flooded on Wednesday.
PDRC chairman Dr Allen Sammy said around noon, there was a high tide, and people crossed their fingers, hoping that low tide would reduce river levels.
However, Sammy said with rain in the Princes Town region over the last two days, they expected the wash-off to flow into Penal and Debe communities. There were already high water levels in the swamps of Woodland, and residents there expected it to worsen with further rainfall.
“Other areas had floods, but not on the roadway. We will be in trouble if more rain falls, especially in the Princes Town and Penal Rock Road areas. The Papourie, Oropouche, and Curutama rivers are full,” Sammy said.
“There is storage at key points in case people flood overnight on the Rochard Road and Penal Rock Road areas,” he said.
With trucks and high vehicles assisting residents in Biche to pass flooded streets on Wednesday, the MRCRC is also ready to deploy crews to assist residents in case of flooding
MRCRC vice-chairman Hazarie Ramdeen reported minor floods in Kernaham Village in Mayaro, Biche, San Pedro and Navet.