Two children, cut off from their homes by flood waters, stood in a dry spot at the water’s edge, playing games, unaware of the destruction. In contrast, at the same spot, Victoria Village, San Fernando, near the Cipero River, Sonnyboy Rooplal, stood with a worried look on his face as he viewed the muddy waters, surrounding his modest home in the distance.
As the water receded a bit, Rooplal rolled up his pants and waded though unknown depths to get to his home, where he was greeted by his wife, Dolly, and other members of his family trying to wash the slush that had gathered. “Water all inside the house, downstairs. It has gone down now but if you see the mess it made from downstairs to upstairs, “ Dolly Rooplal painted a graphic picture over the telephone.
“My daughter-in-law called the fire brigade (Mon Repos Fire Station) but they said they had no water so we washing down with a hose. But the water trickling down because the desalination plant still down. We trying to take a hoe and a broom to clear up the slush but this is too heavy, we need the authorities to come and help us,” Dolly added.
Her daughter-in-law, Susan, one of seven families affected by the overflowing Cipero River on Rooplal Avenue, said she has been living at this location for 30 years “and this has been a problem since before that.” She said the river was dredged and widened in the Coconut Drive and Gulf View areas but where she lived no such work was ever done, in spite of letters to the Ministry of Works and the Princes Town Regional Corporation.
“Every year, once it rains, we have this problem,” Susan said. CEO of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management, Dr Stephen Ramroop, confirmed that there was a lot of flooding across the country, in the South, Manzanilla and Sangre Grande. He said by evening the water had receded but all the disaster units were out on the field assessing damage.
In several parts of Debe and Barrackpore the roads were inundated with flood water, resulting in motorists using alternative routes to arrive at their respective destinations. At the Debe roundabout where construction work on the Solomon Hochoy Highway extention is taking place, a group of workers were seen sitting around a table surrounded by flood. The area of the SS Erin Road, Debe, near the turn off to the highway was also under water.
In addition, motorists using the Mosquito Creek where highway construction works is being done were also stuck in snail-pace traffic.
Flooding in Caparo
Hundreds of commuters travelling along the Brasso Caparo Valley Road were stranded yesterday after parts of the road became impassable as water peaked as high as one metre at some points. At Durham Mills Road, Caparo scores of passengers travelling from Chaguanas to Brasso, Flanagin Town, Tabaquite and Rio Claro were affected. Residents believe that had it not been for the cleaning and dredging of the Caparo River the situation would have been worst.
Several schools, both primary and secondary, had to cancel classes earlier than usual on Wednesday as the water levels rose.
—with reporting by Paras Ramoutar
