Trees uprooted, roofs blown off, 2 injured

Strong winds and incessant rainfall were experienced in several parts of the country yesterday during the passage of a tropical wave coupled with the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).

At Granville Beach, Cedros, a tree was uprooted and crashed into a car injuring a man and woman at about 1 pm. The unidentified people were taken to the Point Fortin Area Hospital where both remained up to late yesterday. Newsday learnt that the woman was trapped in the driver’s seat while the man was unconscious on the ground outside the vehicle. The vehicle was almost split in two.

“Using my chainsaw, the villagers came together and removed her from the vehicle. The man had lacerations to the head and was unconscious on the ground. It seems they are not from the area and were at the beach,” said councillor for the area Shankar Teelucksingh. He thanked Dr Praveen Ramoutar for his intervention in dispatching an ambulance from the Cedros Health Centre to assist the injured.

The uprooted tree, Teelucksingh said, was earmarked for removal as part of the national cleanup campaign as it showed signs of deterioration. The local government representative added that the Work Supervisors Department of the Siparia Regional Corporation failed to act effectively.

At Bamboo Village, Cedros, the councillor added that the roof of four houses were blown off. “The entire roof at a house at Campbell Street was blown off. Three other houses had minor damage and right now people are trying to repair their rooftops,” he said.

According to the TT Weather Centre facebook’s page, as of 2 pm yesterday, gusty winds caused minor roof damage and downed trees in several areas including a tree which fell on the extreme left lane of the south-bound Uriah Butler Highway near the Divali Nagar. There were also reports of downed trees around the Queen’s Park Savannah near the Emperor Valley Zoo which reduced traffic to a single lane and caused people heading to the One Island concert at the Savannah to be several hours late.

Reports reached Newsday of a tree crashing onto a house in Cunupia. Several galvanize sheets were blown off a house in Carapichaima, while minor roof damage was also reported in Chaguanas. Along the Churchill Roosevelt Highway in Valsayn, large brances from trees in the median lay on the east-bound lane as strong winds were experienced in the area.