Flood victims in north-west plead for help

Anna-Lisa Paul

Senior Reporter

anna-lisa.paul@guardian.co.tt

As residents of Diego Martin and Petit Valley cleaned up yesterday after Saturday’s devastating rains, which flooded homes and businesses with several feet of water in some areas, darkening skies sent many rushing to get sandbags, fearing a second consecutive day of flooding.

Angry over the absence of Cabinet officials hours after hundreds were flooded out, residents criticised the Government and demanded better performance and service. One woman who has been living in the vicinity of Northern Hardware, Diego Martin Main Road, for over 30 years, expressed shock over the sudden and widespread flooding that had affected the north-western peninsula.

While waiting anxiously for workers from the Disaster Management Unit (DMU) of the Diego Martin Regional Corporation (DMRC) to load ten sandbags into their car, the sisters, who chose not to reveal their names, expressed that they had never experienced anything like what had occurred on Saturday. One said, “It was horrible. The entire house was flooded out.” Indicating that they were frightened because more rain was forecast for yesterday, the women hurriedly left to return home and take whatever precautions they could to protect their property. Over at Chuma Monka Avenue, Petit Valley, several residents were washing and cleaning cars that had been submerged in flood waters. Kenny Oswald said his Toyota Prius, which he purchased last December, had been totalled and would now have to be written off, while at least four feet of water had filled his home.

Inviting Guardian Media into the apartment, which remained waterlogged yesterday, he estimated that his damage amounted to over $100,000. The security consultant said this was the first time he had experienced this type of weather phenomenon. He was critical of the area’s drainage system as he believed the poor infrastructure was to blame.

Agreeing the unregulated high-rise and hillside housing developments in Diego Martin and Petit Valley were to be blamed in part for Saturday’s floods, he added, “Trinidadians are a dirty people. We throw rubbish all over.”

He begged everyone to do better, as indiscriminate dumping of garbage, old appliances, and other items in rivers and watercourses had contributed to the flooding. An irate resident whose husband was denied compensation following the 2012 floods said she was disgusted by the lack of response by government officials to yesterday’s floods.

Revealing the tradesman had lost all his tools, then, she said, up to 11 am yesterday, no one had come to assess those living at Chuma Monka Avenue. Ricardo Hillaire, who lives at Bagatelle, said he rushed to assist people in the area. Having returned early yesterday to help people clean up, he expressed anger and dissatisfaction at the lack of response from the authorities.

Contractor Matthew Pariag, who also lives on the street, called on those in power to do more. He stated that since they paid their taxes on time, they were entitled to receive a certain level of representation and support.

Disheartened by the responses of those whom he said had been elected to serve them, he said up to 11 am, “Corporation can’t come down; nobody can’t come down. The roads are in a mess and need to be washed down; people’s homes were affected.”

He demanded answers, “Where’s the help? Where’s the little support?” He urged those in authority “to show some kind of concern for the people living here.” Over at Crystal Stream Government Primary School, Gloria Avenue, which stands on the boundary bordering both Diego Martin and Petit Valley, ground floor classrooms had to be washed and sanitised.

A team of Cepep workers arrived at the school from as early as 7 am, sweeping mud and slush out while others washed and sprayed furniture and walkways. A thick layer of slush and mud covered the schoolyard, so fire services were assigned to wash the premises ahead of today’s classes.

Diego Martin Central MP Symon de Nobriga toured several areas that had been severely affected and assured that all efforts were being made to prevent any disruption to schools in the impacted zones.

He said they had prioritised the assigning of resources and were going from street to street to ascertain what was needed. David De Leon, who lives at Gloria Avenue, did not sleep on Saturday as he waited for flood waters to subside so he could begin mopping up.

Estimating the loss of furniture and appliances at around $10,000, De Leon called on a male relative to help him take his waterlogged couches out of the small apartment.

Having been affected by flooding at least six times since he moved to the area in 1995, De Leon erected a wall about three feet high in front of the entrance to his home.

He said yesterday, “It just wasn’t high enough to keep the water out.” He said they were caught unaware and were unable to take precautions as the nearby river filled up quickly and spilled into the surrounding streets and homes.

He said, “We was watching the river cause we accustomed getting flood and within a half hour time, it start to rise, and with that, it come in the yard, and in the space of five to ten minutes … that was it. It caught us off guard.”

Asked what he needed urgently, De Leon appealed, “I would really like the Government to come in and help us like how they does help down in the South and in other areas.”

He suggested the engineers come in and take a second look as “Nothing much had come of a visit before.”

De Leon said the heavy rains had scuttled his plan to attend the launch of Carnival at the Queen’s Park Savannah on Saturday, but he agreed, “God is good. No one was hurt or lives lost.”

At the family home of Mark Roberts lower down, school books, shoes, furniture, clothing, and electronics could be seen in the front yard, while the doors to two cars remained open in a bid to drain them. As his relatives bagged destroyed items for the garbage, they looked around bleakly at keepsake collections that had been lost.

Roberts said water levels had crossed four feet, trapping his wife and others in the property. He said Saturday’s intense rains and the subsequent flooding had driven home just how the people in low-lying areas feel when they are flooded out as it had now reached their front door.

Mindful that the skies were darkening as he spoke with reporters, Roberts believed if the Met Services had acted in a timely manner to advise the population of an adverse event, “I would have been on the alert.”

He said it was complete “bull*@%t” that no advisory had been issued as the rainfall event had been concentrated in the northwest of the country, as rainfall had affected the entire country, albeit less in intensity.

Minister urges residents: Come and get sandbags

Mobilising resources as the skies cleared yesterday after he met with councillors who had been out in the field on Saturday night, Diego Martin Central MP Symon de Nobriga urged people to come and get sandbags as more rains were anticipated.

Greeting residents as they collected sandbags at the DMU, even as the rain began drizzling again, the minister said they were concentrating on washing streets and ensuring landslips and landslides had been urgently attended to. He said, “We don’t want mud caking and drying, turning to dust, which will now become a health issue for people living on the respective streets.”

Indicating they were focused on ensuring all schools were ready to reopen today, de Nobriga said all agencies were working together to ensure relief was brought in the shortest possible time. Looking on as Cepep teams shovelled mud, slush, and debris that had covered Princess Margaret Avenue, Petit Valley, the minister spoke with councillors Chelsea Mendez and Marcia Marslin about compiling a list of the needs of affected residents.

The councillors said they had been working alongside the DMU to address all concerns. They also agreed the indiscriminate dumping of appliances and waste had played a part in the weekend’s floods.

Pressing de Nobriga to respond to the claim that unplanned and unregulated housing developments were also to blame, he insisted, “That is a problem across the country.”

But he shared, “That was addressed in large part, in terms of larger developments a few years ago, so you will see for the most part there is almost a line above which you will not see any new developments. It does not mean that you don’t have people in certain areas who have the resources to get a backhoe and start to clear and all sorts of things. And very often, it is beyond the capacity of the corporation to address it without being notified. If you are living in an area and you do see development happening, and very often you can tell when something is not … well, happening surreptitiously, notify the corporation, speak with your councillors, call them, let them know.”

Local Govt: We are out and working

Despatching resources throughout the night on Saturday to affected areas as they moved to deal with fallen trees and landslides and landslips, the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government (RDLG) mobilised resources to clean up. They claimed the thunderstorms associated with the passage of a low-level trough had caused significant street and flash flooding at Upper La Puerta Avenue, La Seiva Road, and Long Circular Road.

Collaborating with the Diego Martin Borough Corporation, the San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation, the Ministry of Works and Transport (MOWT), the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service (TTFS), and the CEPEP Company Limited, the RDLG cleared blocked roadways in Morvant, along the North Coast Road, and at Kavi Crescent in Petit Valley.

The efforts, which continued until 3 am yesterday, were extended to include La Seiva, Carenage, Chuma Monka in Petit Valley, and Crystal Stream. Finance Minister Colm Imbert also praised the efforts of ground teams that worked diligently to address the aftermath of Saturday’s floods.

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