Under the grim skies and persistent rainfall, thousands of commuters rushed for transportation to get home as flood waters rose across the country. According to the Meteorological Service, the Adverse Weather Alert #1- Yellow Level issued at 11.15 am yesterday was expected to continue today. The adverse weather came as a result of a low-level trough that is interacting with the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ICTZ), which brings with it, chances of floods, gusty winds and landslides.
For those in the Port-of-Spain yesterday, all it took was 25 minutes of a downpour at noon for the South Quay and environs to be transformed into gushing streams and ponds. It was difficult to differentiate City Gate from the sea as flood waters rose several feet, making it difficult to see the roads and pavements. So voluminous was the runoff following the afternoon showers a section of asphalt was lifted off at the corner of the St Francois Valley Road and Waterman Road, Belmont. Motorists had little choice but to drive onto the pavement to pass.
Up to late yesterday, an engineering team from the Port-of-Spain City Corporation was assessing the damaged road.
Residents of Trou Macaque, Laventille were told that their concerns about crime and policing will have to wait as the Police Service cancel its town meeting at the Trou Macaque Community Centre, Laventille on account of the bad weather. In Diego Martin, motorists had to drive cautiously and strong winds and soggy soil almost toppled a utility pole with high tension wires onto passing vehicles.
Motorists on the Lady Young Road moved along precariously as mud covered their path. Several drivers and their passengers escaped serious injury after their vehicles skidded off the Solomon Hochoy Highway during the downpour.
Yesterday, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) issued a notice, asking citizens to delay travel for approximately 1-2 hours out of the capital city and avoid driving or walking through floods. According to the ODPM the Couva/Tabaquite, Talparo Region Corporation had the most reports of flooding as residents in Gasparillo, Williamsville, Piparo, Claxton Bay and Freeport felt to the pinch of swollen watercourses. There was also floods in the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation and minor flooding in San Fernando.
Citizens should continue to monitor the website and social media profiles of the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service and the ODPM for weather forecasts, alerts, warnings and cancellations. Visit http://www.metoffice.gov.tt or www.odpm.gov.tt. Too much for drainage system—Works Minister
Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan said that because of global warming, the country is experiencing extreme weather in which the volume of rainfall is burdening the country’s drainage system. This, he said, was the reason for yesterday’s floods.
Sinanan added that homeowners, developers and business owners who refuse to obey Town and County Planning regulations and build on river banks, thus narrowing the watercourses, were to blame as well.He said the Ministry has completed Phase I and Phase II of its watercourse cleaning project, which accounted for the major rivers and drains. Phase III, which has begun, deals with the minor watercourses under the Ministry’s purview. He said that a study done on the drainage in Port-of-Spain between 2013 to 2016 had failed so the Ministry has embarked on a new study. In the short-term, a pilot project, in which infrastructure is being built to accommodate a drainage pump near the Port of Port-of-Spain, is underway.
If this project is successful, nine pumps will be placed from Wrightson Road to South Quay to push the flood waters out into the sea.