A week after Tropical Storm Bret ravaged the country, in Williamsville where muddy flood waters were up to five feet high in some homes, residents fear further flooding since the Guaracara River is still clogged with garbage.
At Kent Street, which runs parallel to the river, garbage has been building up near a bridge. A refrigerator, tank, chair, bamboo, tree branches and other garbage can be seen floating in the water.
In addition, mounds of garbage have been lining the street following last Friday’s floods.
Last Monday, during the passage of Bret, the Guaracara River overflowed. The river was still swollen last Friday when heavy rains caused further flooding, causing more damage than before.
Resident Sanjay Sanasie said he was disappointed at the response from the Princes Town Regional Corporation (PTRC) since no equipment was sent to remove the garbage along the street. Sanasie is worried that further rainfall will cause water levels to rise; everything on the roadside would float and scatter.
He said whatever was saved from last Monday’s floods went with Friday’s repeat.
“We called the Princes Town Regional Corporation but no one answered our calls. Last Monday we called the ODPM and two trucks came. Since the last flood, no one has come to help clear this garbage.
“We live in a flood prone area so if rain falls again tonight or tomorrow, everything on the roadside will float and I don’t know where it will end up,” he said.
Sanasie was also disappointed that there has been no spraying since mosquitoes are a major problem in the area.
The real heroes, residents said, were members of the business community and charitable groups who have provided hampers and cooked meals, as well as the officers from Princes Town Fire Station who filled their water tanks so they could wash the mud out of their homes.
There were heavy losses for businessman Oudho Persad, who owns Top Seals and Services and Samantha’s Variety Store. He estimates that he suffered more than $250,000 in losses from his warehouses. Electrical equipment, car products and pottery were soaked by the water, even though he has the highest elevation in the community.
He said his parents, who are pensioners, had to seek shelter upstairs as the water swept through their home like a “tsunami.”
Councillor: Work begins today
Councillor for Ben Lomond/ Hardbargain/ Williamsville Vashti Sookhoo said there was a delay in removing the garbage from Kent Street as the Disaster Management Unit (DMU) of the PTRC still has to assess the damage.
Sookhoo, who is the chairman of the DMU, said most of their staff were Muslims who celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr on Sunday. She said it would have cost a lot to bring out workers on Monday’s public holiday.
Sookhoo said clean up works are expected to resume today with Cepep coming in to help residents clean their properties. She said the PTRC will attempt to clear the blocked river and the Ministry of Health will begin spraying exercises.
“The destruction done to the community is overwhelming and the disaster unit’s relief was exhausted on Saturday. We even still have homes to go to. A lot of donations have been coming in from the business community and we have set up an emergency centre at the Williamsville Community Centre,” Sookhoo said.
She said following the floods of August 2010, the Government had commissioned a report on the Guaracara River and they are awaiting the results to see what best they can do to mitigate flooding. She said because most people had built near the bank of the river, it was difficult to get an excavator to clean in certain areas.
