Grants to assist with rebuilding, flood relief and replacement of roofs, school supplies, uniforms and appliances are available for members of the public who successfully apply for this, says Government Senate leader Franklin Khan

Khan detailed the relief measures in the Senate yesterday in reply to Opposition questions on what was available for the public who needed help following the passage of tropical storm Bret on Monday night into yesterday.

Khan complimented all agencies on management of the storm issues, which he said had shown a “level of preparedness by Government.”

“Government has taken an ‘all-of-Government’ approach on the handling of the storm; thankfully to the Lord, T&T was spared its full wrath,” he said.

Khan’s colleague, Works Minister Rohan Sinanan, told the media prior to Senate that Government had been better prepared for the storm.

“This was a serious storm and everything was in place; also people were very patriotic and came out to work (in Works),” he said.

Khan said no lives had been lost to Bret, to his knowledge. He had no estimates of how many people had been affected yet.

He said under the Disaster Management Plan, regional corporations, as first responders who collate the data, are assessing damage and “hopefully within the next 48 hours, will be in a better positions to indicate (how many are affected).”

The plan, Khan said, involved the Office of Disaster Preparedness, Works Ministry at infrastructural level clearing water courses, roads and other areas and Local Government corporations as first responders.

For those affected by the storm, he added: “There are a lot of social services, including grants, for building from the Housing Ministry to a maximum of $15,000 for those who qualify.”

He noted there were also a series of social development grants in various sums.

Grants up to $20,000 are available for minor house repairs such as roofs which have been blown off or homes which have been flooded out. Grants up to $7,000 are available for household appliances.

Similar grants were available to replace lost schoolbooks or uniforms once applicants qualify, he added.

Replying to Opposition queries on the level of preparedness by regional corporations for rainy season flooding, Khan thanked both PNM and UNC-controlled corporations for their work in Government’s clean-up campaign. He detailed work which was done.

Khan said a more co-ordinated approach was needed on drainage and acknowledged issues with unplanned development contributing to flooding. He noted such development, especially in the Northern reaches of the East-West corridor, were challenging.

Tropical Storm Bret left scores of residents in Central in total distress yesterday, as many of them lost almost everything to the raging flood waters that swept through the remote villages of Caparo, Todd’s Road and Mamoral.

Over 60 reports of roofs being either blown off or partially blown off were lodged at the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation’s (CTTRC) Disaster Management Unit.

An electricity pole fell across the road way leading to Mamoral, causing the entire village to be cut off. Commuters accessing Tabaquite were also forced to use alternative routes through Gasparillo and Rio Claro due to fallen trees that blocked off all thoroughfare. Severe flooding was also reported at Ravine Sable and Las Lomas.

In Caparo, appliances, furniture, beds, pets, livestock and crops were washed away, with some items seen floating down the streets.

Up to late last night many of them were engaged in extensive clean-up operations.

Magdeline “Maggie” Brewster, 63, said: “I don’t know if I should laugh or cry.”

Brewster, of Chickland Road, Caparo, has been operating a catering service at her home for the past four years. Yesterday morning, with rising flood waters, Brewster said she looked on helplessly to see her fridges, stoves and foodstuff destroyed.

“I lost three fridges, two stoves and a freezer. I estimate my overall losses to be about $30,000,” Brewster said.

She added that she did a lot of charity catering for churches, neighbours and other people.

“It is the worst experience for me. I was away for 17 years and only returned to T&T seven years ago,” she said.

The Maharajs, from Santa Phillipa Road, Caparo, where flood waters rose to a height of four feet, were also counting their losses.

“We have lost thousands of dollars worth in car parts that we brought in to sell. The entire downstairs of our home destroyed. New appliances we had destroyed with the water. The flood waters came up about three feet high and in no time, from as early as 4 am, the waters began coming up. We tried to salvage things but it all happened quickly,” Deodath Maharaj said.

CTTRC councillor John Lezama (Caparo/Mamoral) visited several areas yesterday and expressed sadness over what he witnessed.

“Until the waters subside there isn’t much we could do. But I am going around assessing the damages and losses of the villagers. So far it is just sad to see people’s homes transformed into ponds and they losing everything,” Lezama said, adding he to suffered from the floods as his office was under water.

CTTRC chairman, Henry Awong said the disaster response machinery kicked in only at an 80 per cent.

“In a disaster we would have liked a 100 per cent but the operations didn’t go as smoothly. Some things definitely have to be reviewed with regards to the readiness but thank God it wasn’t so severe as anticipated,” Awong said.

Families in Moruga/Princes Town were bracing for more backlash last night after the rains came down in the wake of the passage of Tropical Storm Bret.

Judy Figaroo, a mother of five from Moruga whose home collapsed under the force of Bret, said she had nowhere to rest her head as the emergency shelters were not accessible because of rising flood waters.

While her neighbours hurriedly tried to salvage her valuables from the collapsed house, Figaroo said she was uncertain about what to do.

Recalling the horror, Figaroo said she was inside with her five children—Stepan, 21, Kiel, 18, Soriah, 17, Danah, 14 and Mickila, ten—when there was a loud crash as the force of the winds toppled her house onto a nearby shed.

“We had no time to do anything except run out of there. We went to a neighbour’s house,” Figaroo said.

Along the Moruga Main Road, a sprawling 60-year-old milkwood tree collapsed on top of a house owned by Anthony Sambury and a garage owned by Sambury’s neighbour Marva Cooper. The trunk of the tree, which measured about four feet in diameter, flattened a GMC truck which was parked in the garage.

Huge chunks of concrete were scattered on the roadway and electricity lines remained down when the T&T Guardian visited around 2 pm.

Parts of Moruga remained without electricity for most of the day.

Sambury’s wife Rhonda Patterson said when the tree fell she thought it was a car crash.

“First I heard the creaking sound and the crash. There was a bang as the transformer blew. We had to run out of the house with the two children,” Patterson said.

At White Trace, Moruga, Courtney Hudlin and his family were still bailing out water from inside their home. Their muddy waterlogged couch stood outside while his brand new refrigerator floated in the flood waters.

Hudlin’s neighbours, who stayed home from work, helped him salvage his valuables.

Nearby, along Poui Trace, St Mary’s, Andy Guerra tried to fix his roof which blew off. His nephew Enrico Guerra said when the floods came the water gushed into his house, reaching up to the electrical panel box.

“We took off the electricity supply. There was a lot of water in the house and now we are hoping that more rains don’t fall,” Guerra said.

Natalie Patrice, from the Moruga Poverty Reduction Centre, meanwhile spent most of the day visiting the affected families.

“We went to Rock River, Basse Terre and La Rufin where homes were waterlogged and parts of the roofs blew off,” she said.

With houses still under water up to late afternoon, Patrice and her team distributed food hampers, dry clothing, sheets, baby diapers and wipes to affected families.

“It was sad to see so many people affected. One man had to drag his refrigerator and stove out in the road. Trees fell across the road at Basse Terre and Penal Rock Road. At Edward Trace, one house collapsed. They lost everything,” Patrice said.

Despite the hopelessness of some families, some children used the floods for entertainment.

Tyler Jairam and his big brother Sean were seen jetsking in the floods.

Up to 5 pm, hundreds of householders from St Mary’s to Marac remained without electricity.

Meanwhile, the Water and Sewerage Authority said several water treatment plants remained down last night because of flooded river intakes and power failures.

WASA said the plants are expected to return to service in the coming hours as river conditions normalise and the power supply is restored at the various locations.

A Cabinet minister yesterday said the police was part of a critical failing of the criminal justice system in T&T.

Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat made the statement during his contribution to yesterday’s Senate debate on a bill to establish a system of plea bargaining and plea discussion in T&T.

The bill was presented by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Faris Al-Rawi.

It seeks to establish a system plea bargaining to clear up the backlog of criminal cases.

Rambharat said he was concerned about the level of crime in the country. He said he felt powerless when he saw a photo in the newspaper of a teenaged girl displaying her uncontrollable grief after her father was gunned down.

“We ought to do better,” adding that, “we need to fix the criminal justice system.”

Rambharat said he “felt powerless that (there wasn’t) anything I can do (that) will have an impact on the criminal justice system.”

Rambharat said there was the “bureaucracy that over time has failed to step up to give effect to what the Parliament has done and that is the true failing, whether it is the court, the Police Service.”

He said he was “not a fan of the TTPS. Every time I pass police officers, the police canteen, the (Police) barracks and I see the police vehicles parked up there, used, unused, salvaged, destroyed, whatever. I know that the TTPS forms part of a critical failing in the criminal justice system.”

The minister referred to the recent murders of two Chinese nationals in Marabella, adding that the killer was “somebody so brazen to fire shots and go twice and reload and return (as was shown in video footage of the killings).”

Rambharat said that “can happen to anyone of us.”

He said no one was against the system of plea bargaining but insisted it had not worked here because criminals had no real fear of conviction.

Rambharat said he was the father of three children. He gave their ages and said he was “extremely worried about where we are and the urgency of fixing this thing we constantly talk about, the criminal justice system.”

He said the one good thing coming out of the Tropical Storm Bret which passed over T&T on Monday night, was that it “would stop crime for a few hours in this country.”

Three men were shot dead near John John basketball court, in East Port-of-Spain hours before the storm struck.

Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen, who spoke after Rambharat, said the Opposition was in support of the legislation. He insisted, however, the criminal elements in T&T should be wiped out.

The police report on the death of the 14-year-old boy who committed suicide at a Children’s Authority “safe house” will be sent to Prime Minister Keith Rowley shortly, says Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young.

Young made in the comment in the Senate while replying to Opposition queries on the boy’s death.

The 14 year old committed suicide by hanging on June 14 while in the care of a Children’s Authority “safe house” at Valsayn.

Young said Government was deeply saddened by the boy’s death. He said the police service is doing an official probe of the matter.

The Children’s Authority is also investigating the matter to see if “any of their protocols have been compromised.” Both reports will be sent to the PM and the Minister in the PM’s office, he said.

Young could not say if other children at the facility had received counselling following the boy’s death.

Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen raised the issue of boy’s death as matter of urgent national importance for Senate debate. He said the Children’s Authority had failed to handle its function and protect children under its care.

However Senate president Christine Kangaloo said she wasn’t satisfied the matter qualified for debate.

On other Opposition queries - on the affected CT scanner at the San Fernando General Hospital - Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said the scanner was obtained in May 2010.

But he said it was left in its original packaging - collecting condensate, becoming defective and losing its warranty - until it was installed in 2012 by the previous Southern Regional Health Authority. (SWRHA).

Three men and a minor accused of robbing Roman Catholic priest Fr Clyde Harvey last week claimed yesterday they were beaten by police to confess to the crime.

Lawyers representing Christian Huggins, 19, Miguel Collins, 18, Dion Gillard, 21 and a 17-year-old, who name has been withheld,made the allegations shortly after they were denied bail in the Port-of-Spain Magistrate’s Court, yesterday.

Attorney Chelsea John, who represented Collins, said: “My client has informed me that he was beaten and forced to sign a document which he was not able to read.”

In response police prosecutor Sgt Azard Ali questioned the veracity of the allegations.

“I find it passingly strange that all of a sudden the accused were beaten,” Ali said.

Huggins’ lawyer Ronald Daniels rejected Ali’s assertion which he described as inappropriate and unfortunate.

Presiding magistrate Kerri Honore-Narine made a note of the complaints and instructed the defence attorneys that the issue may be raised during the trial of the case.

The men who were dressed in the same clothes they were wearing when they were arrested by officers of the Port-of-Spain CID last week, all appeared to have bruise marks on their faces but no other injuries that were visible in court.

Honore-Narine acceded to the attorneys’ request to have the group taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital for treatment before being remanded to prison and the Youth Training Centre (YTC) in Arouca.

The accused were charged with breaking and entering into the St Martin’s RC Church at Hermitage Road, Gonzales, and falsely imprisoning Harvey, during an incident last Monday.

They were also accused of using personal violence to rob Harvey of a watch valued at US$500, a Samsung Galaxy cellphone valued at $4,500 and $1,000 cash.

When the group’s attorneys attempted to apply for bail, the prosecutor said the criminal record tracing was not available and asked that the case be adjourned to Thursday.

Honore-Narine agreed as she said she could not consider bail without having sight of the records.

The minor was represented by Sheldon Guerra, while Gillard represented himself.

Although saved from the full “rage” of tropical storm Bret, several business places in and around Port-of-Spain remained closed yesterday. But in southern and eastern areas, some Government Ministers were busy assessing the brunt of Bret’s damage there.

Both Government Ministers Kazim Hosein (Local Government) and Rohan Sinanan (Works) and Opposition MPs were at one on the fact that certain deep southern areas were the hardest hit.

While southern and eastern residents struggled to recoup post-Bret, others in north-west Trinidad were coping in other ways—staying indoors—with the overcast conditions and intermittent rain which continued after the storm’s peak passed the North from 6.30 pm Monday night into early yesterday morning.

Though heavy winds and rain had ended by yesterday, banks, schools and other businesses in and around Port-of-Spain remained closed. Some parts of upper and downtown PoS were like a “ghost town,” without traffic and pedestrians. But KFC was—as usual —open.

Along Tragarete Road and parts of Newtown and Woodbrook, some businesses, including food outlets, also remained closed.

It had been a different picture on Monday in St James for instance, where residents—including many Venezuelan nationals—had rushed to “stock up” on food and other items for the storm watch.

But yesterday, in the worst-hit areas—mainly southern—the situation couldn’t be solved by food supplies alone.

“I’ve been out in the field since 6 am and am currently in Penal, where people were extremely hard hit. Plenty roofs have been blown off, trees have fallen and there’s plenty flooding with people marooned. Debe is among the hardest hit,” said Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein as he toured.

“I’m linking up with Opposition Leader (Kamla Persad-Bissessar) as we move through the areas.”

Hosein said he was heading next to Princes Town—where UNC MP Suruj Rambachan said sustained much damage with roofs and flooding—then on to Mayaro, Sangre Grande, Arima and Tunapuna.

Hosein could not respond on Rambachan’s call for an inter-ministerial team comprising Works, Health, Social Development and Finance to assess damage and implement systems to assist people with grants to restore lost roofs and handle other housing issues. But he said he was sure when the Cabinet meets “some decision will be made.”

“However, Local Government corporations are the first responders, so they’re providing tarpaulins, other material and labour to help those who lost roofs. The material is there,” Hosein added.

Oropouche East MP Roodal Moonilal, whose constituency was the hardest hit and who was also touring with Persad-Bissessar said: “About 1,000 people have been affected (in these areas so far), with no reports of injuries yet.”

Sinanan, also on “field visits,” confirmed his ministry found storm damage was greater on the southern sides of Trinidad, and the east.

“There are some landslips also. We’ve had people on the field since 5 am and we stationed equipment—bulldozers et cetera—in Toco and other places since Monday, so they were on spot to handle any work that was necessary.”

He added, “We’re awaiting word from Tobago also. Due to the poor weather, the ferries couldn’t sail on the weekend but they’re back on schedule now and the Port is working on arrangements to ensure Tobago gets supplies.”

Rambachan thanked TTEC and the Couva/Talparo/Tabquite Corporation for the quick response in clearing fallen trees in Tabaquite constituency where about 12 roofs were also blown off.

But he also said the worst damage was in deeper southern areas, noting this was why he suggested an inter-ministerial team, including the Self-Help Commission, Social Development, Finance, Works and other key ministers, be set up to have a co-ordinated approach. 

Criticised by the Opposition for not responding to citizens’ cry for help in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Bret, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said yesterday he was busily working in Tobago.

During a tour of communities in the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation (PDRC), Rowley said his information suggested that Tobago would have suffered the brunt of the storm.

In fact, the PDRC suffered the worst damage with widespread floods, battered houses and loss of livestock and agriculture.

When a journalist asked about his whereabouts over the past three days, Rowley replied, “You sounding like my wife.”

He said from the time the storm reached 300 kilometres east of the islands, he was in frequent contact with the National Security Council, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (OPDM) and key Government ministers.

“I was in Tobago for the weekend. While I was in Tobago, the reports that we were getting from the Met Service and the directional projections of the path were that Tobago would have been receiving the worst of it. I was scheduled to come back on Tuesday. I overnight in Tobago, the storm passed through on Tuesday. Storm conditions and storm warning were discontinued at 5 o’clock on Tuesday and I’m here on Wednesday. So if there is someone who is missing me, I would love to know who that is,” Rowley said.

He said he was also quite happy with the decision to keep Government offices opened in the aftermath of Bret. Responding to the question of why schools were closed but Government offices kept open, Rowley said it was a matter of planning. He explained that schools were closed on Tuesday because in most areas the buildings were used as emergency shelters. He said it was the same planning that led to provisions being made for offshore workers as well and it was based on the information coming from the T&T Meteorological Service and the ODPM.

“The Government took a decision that what we were anticipating, what we were advised as to the nature of the strength of the event, we did not need to shut down any further. Some persons took it upon themselves to shut things down and I think that is an area where we need to tighten up on,” he said.

Rowley said while the high courts and magistrates’ courts were opened the Industrial Courts were closed. He said the Government never asked banks to close, but it had a ripple effect across the country. He said the people who were providing relief assistance were those who went to work as normal.

With the warning discontinued at 5 am Tuesday, he said: “We were quite happy at the call that we made that we would proceed to have the Government open.”

Rowley added, “It wasn’t a hurricane really, some people seem to think it was a hurricane. It was a named storm. As a matter a fact, half an hour ago, the news was that it had been downgraded to a tropical wave so these are various strengths with various potential... We had a tropical storm and we prepared for it, we responded to it and the response continues as we wait for the water to drain off.”

Meanwhile, responding to a photo on social media showing bamboo logs accumulating near a bridge in Macoya, Works and Transport Minister said that river was cleaned a month ago. He said the bamboo was from the river banks that broke loose during the rain and got lodged at the bridge because of the high water level. He said a contractor was clearing the river up to late yesterday. 

As Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley drove through the Debe, Penal and San Francique communities to assess flooding damage yesterday, disgruntled residents expressed their dissatisfaction at the response from the state authorities.

Scores of communities remained under water in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Bret, with residents unable to cook, clean, bathe and get a proper sleep. Elderly residents and children were trapped in their homes as floods intensified in some areas, bringing garbage and pests into their properties.

Rowley told reporters that he was concerned with those residents who had not been able to receive aid such as mattresses, dry food and water. However, he said those residents will have to wait until the floods subside before emergency teams can enter their communities.

“I have noticed in some areas it (flood) is going down, in others it is coming up, because the water is flowing from one area to another. Fortunately, the rains have stopped so we expect that with the draining off the physical conditions will improve,” the PM said.

“What I am really concerned about is the tangible help to get to those in areas that can’t access food, water and warm conditions. So mattresses, dry foods and water are our priorities right now, so we just have to wait for the water to drain off.”

While he was criticised for not being visible on the ground on Tuesday, so too was his presence in the communities yesterday, as residents pointed out to the T&T Guardian that his entourage of vehicles passed through the flood waters and completely ignored them.

In Debe Trace, Debe, residents experienced floods as deep as five feet , brought on by incomplete work on the Debe river during the Solomon Hochoy Highway Extension Project.

Seeta Sookdeo said since rain began on Monday night they had been flooded out. By 1 pm Tuesday, all her furniture and appliances were covered in water. She said her family has not even received a bottle of water from the authorities

“He (Rowley) ain’t stopped. He didn’t slow down to watch anybody. That is a good man, a very decent person,” Sookdeo said sarcastically.

Relatives of 75-year-old Jasoo Sookdeo, who uses a wheelchair, had to evacuate her from her home on Monday night as the river broke its bank and water gushed into her house.

In Mohess Road, Debe, Lalchan Rambharose said since Monday the water had not left their home and no one had come to help. He said the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation promised sandbags but delivered nothing.

“Right now I am under 3 1/2 feet of water. We are sleeping by the road because we can’t sleep by my house. My mother is stuck in there, my brother and two sons as well. The mattresses are wet, freezer, refrigerator, stove gone,” Lalchan said.

Told of the residents’ disappointment, Rowley said he could not spend time with everyone as he was trying to see as many places as possible in two hours. However, Rowley did meet with a few residents along Gopee Trace, Penal and Pluck Road, San Francique.

The swelling of the New Cut Channel worsened yesterday, as it overflowed into the surrounding wetland communities, drowning cattle and poultry and flooding several properties. The New Cut Channel, built in 1963, collects water from several rivers stretching as far a Moruga before disposing it in the Godineau River.

Media stranded

A bus transporting journalists during a tour of the southern areas affect by flooding stalled in Debe Trace. Although the bus was organised by the Ministry of Local Government as part of the entourage accompanying Rowley, more than 1o Government vehicles passed the bus, leaving journalists stranded. It was only when two workers from Anand Low Price Supermarket passed and saw the journalists in distress that help came.

They allowed the journalists to climb through the windows of the bus and onto the back of their truck. The workers then towed the maxi to a dry area, but the journalists were left at the roadside until another vehicle picked them up.

Told of this, Rowley said, “I’m sure that the media can take care of itself. As a matter of fact, I was surprised how many vehicles got through that water because a couple of the areas would have been deep so I’m glad you made it through.”

Grants available

In the Siparia Regional Corporation (SRC), 200 people are being affected by the aftermath of passing of the storm. Of that figure, 170 are critically affected, 25 homes damaged and five houses demolished.

SRC chairman Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh said while help has come from various agencies, more is needed in order to return the communities to normalcy.

Rowley said while relief efforts will be made available, the SRC needs to ensure it reaches to only those who qualify in order to properly manage the Government funds.

Housing Minister Randall Mitchell said once the affected residents write to his ministry and provide proof of damage, they will be eligible for emergency housing grants valued at $15,000.

Oropune Gardens, which sustained significant flooding in the wake of the passage of Tropical Storm Bret, was subjected to major clean-up activities by Housing Development Corporation crews over the last 48 hours.

A Housing Ministry release said emergency teams had conducted repairs to roofs, cleaned and sanitised flooded ground-floor units, cleared debris from roadways, canals and drains, removed slush and slit from roadways and washed down roadways in the development between Tuesday and yesterday.

“HDC personnel have achieved record gains in the restoration of Oropune Gardens to normalcy. Clean-up will continue until the community returns to normal,” the HDC added.

Oropune Gardens was one of six HDC communities which are historically vulnerable to flooding, it said. Others include Nelson Street, Port-of-Spain, Duncan Street, Port-of-Spain, Oasis Greens, Chaguanas, Greenvale Park, La Horquetta and Fairfield, Princes Town.

Following words of Bret’s “arrival,” the ministry said it activated the HDC Emergency Response Plan. Preventative measures were then implemented in the areas to mitigate against the impact of the threatening storm

Response measures included procurement and distribution of sandbags, procurement of seven diesel de-watering pumps, excavators, backhoes and lighting towers

The third victim of Monday’s triple murder at John John, East Port-of-Spain has been identified as Venezuelan national Miguel Matillo, 24.

On Monday while the rest of country was preparing for the onslaught of Tropical Storm Bret, Matillo was taken to Laventille by Moruga resident Dillon Lewis and Dominican Republic national Alfredo “Spanish” Marchan, 24, to conduct an illegal deal. They were ambushed and shot dead and robbed of their sneakers.

Photos of Marchan posing with wads of US cash and automatic rifles.

According to police reports, shortly after 6 pm police received a report of a shooting at an apartment building near to the basketball court at John John.

Police found the three victims lying next to each other in a corridor.

Police are working on two theories that led to the men’s death, both with links to criminality.

The first is that they went to collect $50,000 for a soured drug deal and were murdered. The second theory is that the men went to collect a sum of money supposedly as a ransom for someone kidnapped in Venezuela.

Caribbean Airlines (CAL) officials said passengers on the airbridge left stranded during the passage of Tropical Storm Bret have been flown to their respective destinations.

Between June 16 and 19 the airline moved 10,862 passengers between the two islands.

CAL’s communications manager Dionne Ligoure said confirmed passengers were given priority.

“By midday we had cleared 90 per cent and by Tuesday evening all passengers were out of Tobago,” she told the T&T Guardian. Ligoure said stand-by passengers were dealt with but priority was given to confirmed passengers.

The Arthur NR Robinson Airport was closed at 2 pm on Monday because of the danger posed by Bret, but Ligioure said from 4 am on Tuesday morning the airline had a cabin crew and first officer waiting to begin flights.

“The first flight out on Tuesday morning was a domestic flight,” she said.

To handle the influx of passengers who had to be put off when the airport closed on Monday, a displaced passenger counter was set up manned by employees of a handling company retained by the airline. Ligoure said: “This was a situation that was not normal but we wanted to ensure we did what was necessary to ensure that everyone was accommodated.”

CAL faced its own share of problems with many of its employees affected by floods in the wake of Bret.

Ligoure said the airline put on three jets with a capacity of 154 each and did six rotations in total to and from Crown Point and Port-of-Spain.

However, on the seabridge the T&T Express could not sail either Monday or Tuesday because of rough seas. Sailings resumed yesterday with the vessel leaving for Scarborough at 7.15 am, 45 minutes later than the scheduled 6.30 am sailing.

General Manager of the Inter-island Ferry Service Leon Grant said because of the disruption in the sailing schedule on Monday and Tuesday, the vessel returned to Port-of-Spain to accommodate passengers and was due to leave again last night for Scarborough.

Today the vessel is scheduled to sail from Scarborough at 7.30 am and from Port-of-Spain at 4 pm.

Port Authority officials said there will be daily sailings of the Atlantic Provider and the barge the Trinity Transporter continues to sail on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to ensure supplies are delivered to Tobago.

Defeated and frustrated, Moruga farmer Clifton Coker went back into the Trinity Hills forests yesterday to cut logs to rebuild his home after it was smashed by a fallen tree during the passage of Tropical Storm Bret on Monday.

The Coker family was one of five families from the Tableland/Moruga district who escaped death when gusty winds torn down trees which flattened their homes.

His two-bedroom house at Edward Trace crumbled under the weight of a tree shortly after midnight on Monday. All of his furniture, appliances and other possessions were destroyed.

Coker’s neighbours assisted him late into Tuesday night ,but they were unable to erect the shed on time so Coker and his eight-year-old son Christian had no choice but to spend the night in their car.

The roofs of 55 houses blew off and dozens of houses at La Rufin, Basse Terre, La Savanne and Marac remained under water yesterday.

However, there was some relief for the region, as T&TEC general manager Kelvin Ramsook said electricity was restored to most areas in the South eastern regions up to midday yesterday.

In an interview yesterday, Coker said he was able to salvage some of his galvanize sheets to erect a shed using the forest logs.

“That will have to do for now. We got a mattress from the councillor and we had a place to secure our clothes and the mattress. I am hoping that the Government will give me a grant to rebuild,” Coker said.

Asked if he planned to sleep in the car for a second night, Coker said no. Although the shed is not barricaded, he was taking his chances sleeping in the shed, rather than the car.

“I think if I stay in the car one more night I won’t be able to walk tomorrow. Right now, my legs aching because I am accustomed to sleeping stretched out.”

He said his son, who attends the Basse Terre RC school, lost his books. His uniform, dirty with mud, was found under the debris.

Meanwhile, a La Rufin, Moruga single parent mother Diane Abraham and her four children - Lynfah Forgenie, 17, Anthony Forgenie 14, Lindsay Phillip, nine and one-year-old Kaydee John - went to bed hungry on Tuesday after all their possessions washed away in the river.

Rescue crews had difficulty reaching the family early as they live about 100 feet from the flooded La Rufin River. Abraham said her baby had no milk and all the family’s money and possessions were gone.

“The MP, Dr Lovell Francis, visited us but he didn’t bring anything. He made sure that the place got cleaned out. The councillor came and brought three mattresses and that was what we slept on last night,” Abraham said.

Nicole Dhanraj, whose roof also blew off, managed to get help to clean up her flooded home yesterday. Crews mobilised by Francis spent the day clearing away debris and pumping out water from the houses.

Coordinator of the Moruga Poverty Reduction Centre, Nathalie Patrice, spent the day reaching those who were affected by the floods.

Distributing clothing, cooked meals, bedsheets and towels to the affected families, Patrice said the devastation was real for many families.

“We have a thrift shop and right now all the clothing that was donated is being distributed to the affected families. We are trying to reach as many people as possible,” Patrice said.

She added that Francis donated 100 hampers to affected families but not everyone received assistance.

Lovell, on his Facebook posts, thanked Ramdial Transport for assisting residents with pumping water from their homes. He also lauded Persad’s Supermarket for donating bottled water and hampers. However, he said because of the magnitude of the disaster he needed at least 200 more hampers.

“People need bottled water, dry goods, clothes and beds were wet. I personally distributed 100 hampers but it was simply not enough,” Francis said.

He said the police, army, as well as volunteers from Cepep, URP and community councils assisted in clearing debris and cleaning houses. “Anything we can get now to distribute will be extremely helpful,” Francis added.

The Cipero River has not been dredged for seven years but after the passage of Tropical Storm Bret, San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello personally supervised its cleaning yesterday.

Regrello, who served as deputy mayor for three years, said he did not know the river needed dredging and it was only when Bret passed and homes were flooded he realised huge trees had grown up in the middle of the river at Green Acres. He said then UNC councillor for the area Bishop Jankie Raghunanan never raised the matter.

“It is amazing that when the river was last dredged seven years ago, the contractor piled the silt from the river at the centre of the roadway,” Regrello said.

“The silt was left on the road, trees and grass were allowed to grow and it became impossible to pass. Residents from Akadian Avenue no longer had access to connect to Hill View Drive.”

Asked why this was allowed to happen under his watch, Regrello said: “This wasn’t cleaned before because nobody made mention of it to us. It was the responsibility of the councillor to raise this matter at one level.”

Councillor for Les Efforts Anderson Williams said the dredging will not be a one-off event.

“We are clearing the slush and drainage so that in the event of further rainfall we won’t have problems. This is not a one-off fix. There will be continuous maintenance,” he said

Williams said once the road is cleared the city engineer will assess its condition and do repairs.

Residents who suffered loss of property because of the flooding said they were grateful the project was finally being done.

“It should have been cleared a long time ago but we are happy for this,” Russel Beepath said.

Another resident said she wanted the river to be cleaned regularly, since the clogged watercourse is responsible for most of the flooding in the community. 

A full term pregnant woman, trapped by rising flood waters, was yesterday rescued by a Guardian Media team and residents of St Helena Village, after waiting for over two hours in vain for help from the Regiment and the Office of the Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM).

Karma Jackson, 32, who is 40 weeks pregnant and is due to give birth tomorrow, had summoned help from the ODPM around 7 am yesterday. An official promised to return the call in five minutes but none came.

Her frantic husband, Akil, reached out to the Emergency Health Services for help.

Emergency management technicians Linford Lewis and Kerin Julien arrived on the scene within minutes but by then flood waters at Constantine Road, where the Jacksons resided, were almost five feet in depth.

No one could go in or out.

The EMTs were also called into action after James St Louis suffered a seizure and fell from a pick-up truck and slashed his head. He was trying to get out of a flooded area in El Carmen Village when the accident happened.

St Louis was taken to the nearby St Helena Health Centre for further treatment after his head was wrapped with bandages.

Most of the major rivers were overflowing after the passage of Tropical Storm Bret on Monday. With the high tide and more rains in the Northern Range, residents were bracing for more floods during the day and into last night.

A Guardian Media team covering the devastation after the Caroni River burst its banks shortly after 3 am yesterday, stopped to help out with the situation involving Jackson yesterday.

A call was made to Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young to use his influence to get the Regiment to respond.

A short while later, Col Roger Carter, the Operations Officer of the Defence Force, contacted the Guardian Media team asking for directions to the site.

He was unsure of how to access the area from the St Helena By-Pass Road, which was also flooded. By the time he called back, however, the patient had been rescued and was on her way to the hospital.

Contacted afterwards, Young said while he was disappointed by the lack of a timely response the case was an isolated incident. He said the authorities were responding to many emergency situations across the country. (See editorial on Page A20)

As the minutes wore on and there was no sign of the Regiment, villagers with the assistance of EMT Lewis hopped on a flat-bed truck and headed to Jackson’s home.

The truck driver navigated the narrow road to the house, located almost at the end of Constantine Road, where villagers, under the guidance of Lewis, assisted the patient onto the stretcher and lifted her on the truck.

“It is a long time she was lying in pain,” her husband said as he comforted his wife on the way out.

“I was trying to co-operate and help her relax but no help was coming,” he added.

The woman was subsequently taken to Mt Hope Women’s Hospital where she was warded.

The desperate cry for help was familiar from residents at Madras Road, El Carmen Village and St Helena.

Bobby Reesal, 52, of El Carmen Village, was blunt in his criticism.

“We expected the agencies, the ODPM, the army, coming out to assist the people some way or the other. We have seen nobody whatsoever. Last night the Disaster Management came in when we were totally marooned and they just gave us some sandbags. What could you do with sandbags at that point?” he asked.

Reesal said he was disappointed, since the ODPM had held a press conference saying they were ready and prepared to assist residents.

“Is better they had told us to fend for ourselves,” he said.

Reesal said yesterday’s disaster was the worst flooding he had seen in five decades.

Coast Guard and fire officers are searching for a man who disappeared underwater when the boat in which he was a passenger flipped over in the Godineau River this morning.
 
 The man, who was only identified as "Fly" from Felicity, Chaguanas, was part of a group who went on an oyster-harvesting trip in the swollen river.
 
 Suresh Goolcharan, 62, told the Guardian that around 7 am, his cousin Manohar Goolcharan and Fly joined him on board a 14-feet flat bottom boat near the Sudama Teerath in San Francique.
 
They went down to the Godineau River and harvested several pounds of oysters.  It was while returning, the boat hit a sand pit and turned over, throwing them into the waters. 
 
The Goolcharans were carried into the sea by the flow and they eventually made their way to land at the Shore of Peace, South Oropouche. However, Fly has not been found.
 
Fire officers are expected to search the river while the coast guard will search the sea.
 

The Government has established a $25M relief fund to assist in recovery efforts following Tropical Storm Bret.

The announcement was made at today's post-Cabinet media conference.

The $25 million allocation is to be spread among three ministries—the Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Works and Transport, and the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government.
 
The Government has also asked people affected to make applications to the Ministry of Social and Family Services for grants which cover damage to furniture, appliances, clothes and school material. 
 
Parts of south and east Trinidad, including Barrackpore, Penal, Debe, Siparia, Rio Claro, Mayaro and Sangre Grande saw the most devastation due to flooding.

Tonnes of dirt packed high to prevent the mighty Caroni River from overspilling its banks are being stolen and sold by unscrupulous people.

In at least three sites identified along the river bank, which runs from the foothills of the Northern Range to the Gulf of Paria, there were breaches identified by the Drainage Division, a department in Ministry of Works and Transport responsible for the maintenance and clearing of major rivers in the country.

The Caroni River is the largest river in T&T, spanning a distance of 40 kilometres, and supplies drinking water through the Caroni-Arena Dam. The river is designed in three tiers, each level wider than the other, and the top embankment is stacked with dirt and compacted to retain the water volume during extraordinary rainfall.

Breaches along the top bank can cause the river to divert its course and spill thousands of gallons into low lying areas along with debris and vermin.

Residents of St Helena Village, one of the areas devastated by flooding after the passage of Tropical Storm Bret on Monday, claimed people were stealing tonnes of dirt from the river’s embankment and selling it for as much at $450 a truck load of top soil.

Ministry officials have also identified significant breaches along the embankment of the Oropouche River and other major rivers in South Trinidad.

With the rivers swollen to capacity after over 12 hours of torrential rains coupled with high tide, the water forced its way through any weak areas of the embankment and flooded areas never before affected, long-time St Helena residents said. In some areas, the entire village was flooded with over four feet of water in less than 20 minutes. Hundreds of homes were affected and farmers lost acres of crops, livestock and machinery.

Residents were seen power-washing their homes and throwing out water-logged furniture as clean-up operations continued yesterday.

A Guardian Media team went to investigate a claim of a significant breach of the Caroni River bank at Kelly Trace, Piarco, yesterday.

Villagers on Wednesday said a farmer had dug a pond close to the river bank and suspected the river burst its bank at that location. Video footage seen by Guardian Media confirmed the villagers’ suspicion.

Farmer Surendra Dookran, the former president of the St Helena Village Farmers’ Group, said he dug a 30 foot deep by 100 foot long retention pond about 10 feet from the river to water his crops during dry season. He said he did not have permission from the Drainage Division, but noted other farmers were also doing the same.

“I am not the first and I am not the last,” he said, pointing to his brother-in-law Ramdeen “Kello” Karoo, who dug eight four-feet deep fish ponds at the back of his home. Karoo is the current president of the St Helena Village Farmers’ Group.

Dookran said there was no evidence to show the Caroni River had burst its bank near the pond.

“The flood is God’s work. This is not because of no pond,” he said.

He said he used the dirt from the pond to fill acres of land on the opposite side of the road.

Dookran said he used some of the dirt dug from the pond to also raise the bank of the river. He is also cultivating crops of peppers, coconuts and citrus on the river embankment, an act not approved by the Ministry of Works.

Dookran said if the Ministry of Works orders him to relocate the retention pond they will have to dig and fund a replacement, since he is not allowed to pump water directly from the river to water his crops.

Karoo said he made at least three reports to the Drainage Division about the retention pond being dug so close to the river, but nothing was done. He said the flood which overspilled his fish ponds left him counting his losses.

Over 60,000 tilapia fish and 3,000 cascadoux were lost, he claimed. An acre of hot peppers and an acre of moringa were also covered when the river broke its bank around 1 am on Monday.

Minister of Works Rohan Sinanan yesterday visited the site along with other officials to verify a report he had received earlier.

Tobago House of Assembly Minority leader Watson Duke has described the 2017/2018 THA Budget presented by Secretary of Finance and the Economy Joel Jack as sickening and painful.

Speaking to the media following the $4.9 billion budget presentation at the Jerningham Street Chamber yesterday, Duke said it was anti-worker and anti-people and he had serious concerns.

The THA requested $400 million less than the amount requested in 2016 and he said the Assembly was not being realistic with the reduced request.

“It is very painful, very painful and a lot of regurgitation, very little accounting for what happened between last year and this year and in fact this is not even a budget, because you could only budget realistically on what you expect to have as revenue,” Duke said.

“There is no telling to us that Trinidad is going to give us $4.9 billion, because the last budget was $5.3 somewhere around there and what they got was $2.5, so they have to be realistic in their planning of the revenue that Tobago can generate, which is straight collection of taxes is often used to offset the money that would be deposited in the THA Fund. So we are quite concerned because there is no win in this for Tobago.”

Commenting on the reduced allocation to housing in Tobago, Duke said there was no justification for cutting monies to be spent on housing, as people on the breadline would be affected. He also believes that URP and CEPEP were sidelined.

“When this so-called budget could cut money to be spent on housing then I am concerned about that, because in a place where persons can’t even have titles to lands much less loans ,because they in a URP, CEPEP who are temporary, one would think that more money be spent on Settlements and Labour or Housing, but in this case they have cut the budget substantially,” he noted.

Commenting on the first budget presented under his administration, THA Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles said he was very ecstatic and pleased with the areas of focus.

Charles admitted negotiations continue with the Sandals hotel chain and described the talks as being at a sensitive stage. However, responding to the issue of the decline tourism in Tobago causing some businesses to fold, he said his administration took an unprecedented step of establishing a Tobago Tourism Agency to aid in the development of the sector.

“Only yesterday we would have approved the board of directors for that agency and the secretary would elaborate on that during the debate, so we have put in place various prerequisite activities to facilitate the redevelopment of the sector and I assure you that action would be taken on several fronts, because we recognise the value of tourism to economy of Tobago,” Charles said.

The budget debate continues on June 27 at 10 am.

A near five billion dollar budget for Tobago yesterday, as THA Finance Secretary Joel Jack also sought to assure the citizenry that an end is in sight to the sea bridge problems.

In a near two-hour budget presentation delayed by two days because of Tropical Storm Bret, Jack assured that the THA had been in discussions with the Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan and the board of the Port Authority on the sea bridge issue. He described the ongoing problem as “unfortunate and untenable.”

Jack emphasised the importance of tourism to the Tobago economy in describing the planned Sandals hotel as a “game changer” for the Tobago tourism product. Sandals, he said, will address three shortcomings: airlift, the shortage of high quality rooms and promotion of Tobago as a tourism destination.

On the financial side, he said recurrent expenditure is estimated at 3.2 billion, a reduction of $22 million from last year’s request.

Of the $3.2 billion, the largest amount is for goods and services ($1.2B), followed by transfers and subsidies ($1.05B), personal expenditure ($858.3m), and minor equipment purchases ($127m).

The largest chunk of money goes to health ($694.1m), infrastructure and quarries ($539.5m), education, innovation and energy ($498.1m), tourism, culture and transport ($355.4m) and there’s an allocation of 2275 million for the Office of the Chief Secretary.

The development budget is $1.71 billion. Of that figure, $252 million will be allocated to social infrastructure, $738 million for economic infrastructure, $294 million for multi-sector and other sectors, with $20 million for the production sector.

Jack announced an allocation of $77.2 million for URP and $54 million for Cepep.

He boasted that based on initiatives taken by the THA, Tobago “has the lowest unemployment rate in the Caribbean of 3.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2016,” a rate which said “economists consider to be full employment.”

Noting there is a perennial shortfall in funding from central government, Jack said: “We will work with Chamber and other stakeholders to find a workable solution to challenges.”

Quoting figures, he said in 2001 there were 21,700 people employed in Tobago and by the third quarter of 2016 the figure had grown to 32,000.

Headline and food price inflation based on Central Bank figures, he said, were at single digits at three per cent and five per cent, respectively.

He said Tobago “had done exceedingly well. We should be proud of what we have been able to achieve.”

As he appealed for everyone to work together at what he said was a “critical juncture” for Tobago, he said now was not a time for “theatrics to score cheap political points.”

In the next year a number of projects are planned, including construction of a new terminal at the ANR Robinson airport, a desalination plant and expansion of the power generation capacity at the Cove, he said. A feasibility study will also be done on a cargo port facility for Tobago.

But Jack said the island is “highly vulnerable to the vagaries of the international economic environment,” as he noted that the services sector accounts for 90 per cent of the island’s GDP.