First floods for 2018 rainy season

THE first major rains of the 2018 wet season have arrived, delivering deluges across Trinidad.

“We’ve received reports of flooding from Port of Spain, Couva, Princes Town, Diego Martin, as well as flash flooding in Tunapuna,” local government disaster management coordinator Rishi Siew told Newsday.

Regional corporations have been activated, he added and are already on site assisting people in need.

The capital city was not spared, with videos on social media showing vehicles on Independence Square half-submerged, and commuters standing on the seats of bus shelters to avoid flood waters along Wrightson Road.

While the country is not under a tropical storm warning, the TT Meteorological Office has noted that what the country has been experiencing over the last 24 hours has been normal rainy season weather, associated with a tropical wave. While the main part of the wave has already passed, meteorologist Akil Nancoo told Newsday, it’s possible what the country is feeling is the effects of the back end of the wave. The rain was expected to continue into the night and early morning, but Nancoo said the Met Office was already seeing signs that the weather was stabilising.

“This is typical rainy season weather, nothing to be worried about (regarding a storm); there was some street and flash flooding, with rivers approaching high levels, but no reports of riverine flooding,” he said.

Local Government Minister Kazim Hosein also had similar sentiments. He too noted that there were flood reports in the southern part of the island, and, coupled with high tide, it could be a bit longer than usual for the water to subside. But, he added, the Office of Disaster Preparedness was on alert and in contact with all 14 regional corporations.