‘Move us out’

Valdeen Shears

Residents of Oropune Gardens, Piarco are clamouring to be relocated and compensated after what was described yesterday as the worst natural disaster experienced ever in the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) scheme.

Floodwaters inundated the ground-floor homes, damaging appliances, vehicles and more.

“Nobody should live on the ground floors in the flood-prone parts of Oropune,” said Lisa Felix, a resident of over five years. “It all took about 15 minutes and it (the water) came with a rage. It’s not like this is the fist time this happening...just not this bad.”

Yesterday Felix, like most affected residents, was assessing the damage and cleaning up. She showered praises on her neighbour Amor Cato, in whose second-floor apartment her family were fed and others spent the night.

Anthony Woodruffe said he too, along with his wife and child, would welcome relocation. Lynette Duncan echoed Felix’s sentiments and also claimed neglect.

“I got flood out seven times in 2016 and got no tangible help from any officials, except for two toilet bowls, which they took six months to come install. What we going to get: a whole bunch of them and HDC workers come in with talk,” she said.

For Duncan the loss was two-fold as her two vehicles were submerged close to Building 239 where she lives. Kirk Douglas said only last weekend he had refurbished his kitchen with new cupboards and a refrigerator worth thousands. “Are they going to compensate us to the tune of the items we lost?” he asked.

Annette Richards broke down in tears as she watched her relatives sweep sludge and water out of her living room. “You know how hard I work, how much I sacrifice to furnish my home for my family? It was the worst feeling of hopelessness that I had to just sit and watch my home be destroyed.” Staff from the HDC began cleaning up from early yesterday morning and invited residents to come to a nearby van for liquid cleaning material.

Jennifer Staye-Jack opened up her doors for Sunday Newsday to view the damage. “We lost everything: our furniture and beds, my husband’s tools...”

An enterprising young woman offered a “water taxi service” in a homemade boat, transporting residents cut off from their homes. Nina Noel tried to board the boat, which was made from half a large water tank, but fell into the murky waters. “I almost drowned, so I decided to walk through with others. Then I almost drowned again,” said the mother of nine.

She lives at building 240 and had been trying to get home to her family. Noel also had to assess the damage to the appliances in her food cart, stationed in the nearby car park. Officer Kevin Greenidge, leader of the neighbourhood’s police youth club, said he drove around to see what was needed, only to become marooned himself. He opted to park on the highest incline and carried his nine-year-old daughter on his shoulders through waist-high floods.

Yesterday he was mobilising youth-club members and residents to help affected families. Meals, water and cleaning agents were distributed by members of the Tacarigua Seventh-Day Adventist Church and Revival Capital Prophetic Ministries of Piarco.