The roadway leading to the popular Maracas Beach turned into a virtual sea yesterday with flood waters, causing sea bathers to turn back and drivers to lose their bumpers as a result of the force of the waters that covered the area.
The waters, which rose as high as three feet near the beach facility, also affected sales for bake and shark vendors and the National Insurance Property Development Company (NIPDEC) which manages the Maracas Beach car park, while lifeguards on duty had to be on full alert.
Patrol captain of the Maracas Beach lifeguards Karl Hernandez blamed the flooding on the clogged Maracas River that merges into the sea.
But Tamika Charles-Phillips, CEO of the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (UDECOTT), the agency that oversees the beach facility, yesterday denied that the river was choked, stating that the hazardous sea alert issued by the Meteorological Services of T&T three days ago coupled with the heavy downpours triggered the flooding.
On Saturday, the Met Office warned of large breaking waves near 3.5 metres in height due to long swells along the north coastlines until Wednesday.
It also advised of dangerous rip currents.
“Battering waves can lead to dangerous conditions for swimming and small craft operations,” the advisory further warned.
When a crew from Guardian Media visited the beachfront just before noon yesterday, vehicles were seen turning around to avoid being stuck in the flood.
Others drove through the swaying water to get to the beach.
The bumpers on two cars fell off while navigating through the water.
Hernandez said for three days the roadway leading to the beach have been underwater.
“The whole place flood due to the river mouth block. No one came to clear that.”
He said there was a lack of equipment and tools to clean the blockage.
Hernandez said UDECOTT has to take full responsibility for failing to act.
Every year, Hernandez said flooding would take place because of the clogged river.
“This happened last year because of a lack of maintenance.”
With the water backing up, Hernandez said he expects the flood to invade the three lifeguard towers on the seafront.
In the midst of the flood, Hernandez said some sea bathers were ignoring the hazardous alerts and throwing caution to the wind.
“It had a couple of people...especially the Spanish and them. I don’t know if they don’t understand. But I think anybody could understand a whistle. I think they are probably ignoring us (lifeguards). But as lifeguards, we don’t give up. We want the public to know that we are trying. But it has no law stating that we could force you not to go into the sea.”
Luckily for the festive season, Hernandez said the few lifeguards on duty did not have to rescue anyone in difficulties.
Pointing to a sea of flood waters behind him, Hernandez said sea bathers who visited the beach yesterday had to flee when they saw the water climbing.
“Plenty of people turned back too because of the height of the water. They did not want to take the chance to cross. It will get higher during high tide.”
If an emergency were to take place on the beach, Hernandez said an ambulance may not be able to drive through the water.
Hernandez said people who come to the famous beach are doing so at their own risk.
“When people come here the risks...the ambulance taking you nearly an hour to reach here. If the ambulance taking that time and you still have to deal with this water because we will have to tote the patient down the road...they will not be able to come in here.”
An employee of Patsy’s Bake and Shark and Deli Tracey Whiskey said the waves at the sea was bad since yesterday.
She said the flooding was regular at this time of the year due to the bad seas alert which affects operations on the beach.
“The tide does be high so it does push back the seawater into the river water causing the mouth of the river to block and so the water cannot run out.”
Whiskey said the water would flow onto the roadway, car park and areas of the beach where the vendors would peddle their trade.
“Boxing Day is the start of Carnival. It does normally have a lot of people on the beach from early and they would stay for the entire day,” Whiskey said.
Yesterday, the scene was different as there were few people on the beach which resulted in little or no sales for the vendors.
“The place like a ghost town. The way how they put it into the media is like if the sea is in the road. The sea is not in the road. They just have to open the river mouth and when the tide drop the water will run out,” Whiskey said.
An employee of NIPDEC said the car park also had to be closed off on Sunday as the water level started to rise. Plastic bins in the car park were also seen dancing in the water.
This meant that NIPDEC did not collect revenue from the massive carpark for two days from motorists who use the facility while sea bathing.
NIPDEC charges its car park users $10 an hour.
Udecott CEO denies river is blocked
Contacted yesterday, Charles-Phillips denied that the river is blocked.
She attributed the problem to the hazardous seas alert which will remain in effect until Wednesday.
“We man the facility and I could say there is some flooding. However, there is no choking of the river because of the high tide, and of course, with the flooding, the river comes back into the sea. So, there is only so much...with the high tide the river can run off.”
The carpark, she said, is managed by NIPDEC.
Charles-Phillips said UDECOTT has a team looking into the matter.
“Our team is on-site trying to alleviate where it can. To pump the river all those things are functional. It is really a combination of the rains and high tide.”
She said there was little UDECOTT can do with high waves and heavy rainfall.
Charles-Phillip said once the water recedes the problem will be rectified.
What Met Office’s Orange Alert says
Large breaking waves near 3.5 metres, due to long period swells, have been observed along nearshore, north-exposed coastlines of Trinidad and Tobago.
Choppy conditions are also likely especially along northern facing coastlines in the Gulf of Paria.
Conditions will be amplified during high tides and exacerbated at spring tides. Impacts include: large battering waves, dangerous conditions for swimming and small craft operations, very high surf and dangerous rip currents near affected coastlines.
