Sandbags went like hot-bread

SANDBAGS were going like hot hops bread yesterday in the Arima and Chaguanas boroughs yesterday as panicky residents tried to secure their properties with Tropical Storm Karen dumping major rainfall on country.

Arima Mayor Lisa Morris-Julian said while the eastern borough was ready and willing to assist all Arimians during a time of disaster, she urged the public to exercise caution while moving throughout the borough between yesterday and today.

Morris-Julian said almost 1,500 sandbags were distributed as of midday yesterday to residents. "We are urging people show some responsibility when on the roads, because they have to drive for others as well. We are prepared, we gave out close to 1,500 sandbags but we also gave 500 to Tobago, another 500 to Sangre Grande and some more for Tunapuna/Piarco because we are very mindful that our neighbours are always harder hit than we are.

"We have visited all the major water courses. I am very happy that Minister (Rohan) Sinanan did work on widening the river at Concord Gardens because we flood there every year badly, but we haven't seen that just yet. All in all it seems to be manageable but I don't know what will happen as the rain is coming out," Morris-Julien said.

GREENVALE PANICS

She commended all councillors for their proactive approach in putting different measures in place and providing some assurance to the public. She said the Greenvale retention pond appeared to be in much better condition compared to flooding last year in October.

Yesterday, as the rains began, dozens of Greenvale residents grabbed bags of sand to secure their houses. After residents made a request of their councillor Ryan Rampersad for sand, he responded swiftly and a truckload arrived in Greenvale along with dozens of crocus bags.

Residents confirmed that some home-owners had locked up their houses and left since Saturday but the majority were staying put in Greenvale ready to ride out the rains and flood.

"This year, after a harsh lesson last October, it looks as if the residents figured out how to better prepare for the inclement weather. You know my heart really goes out to Greenvale because I know how hard it is and I know many have not yet fully recovered from the flooding of 2018," the mayor said.

CHAG READY

Chaguanas Mayor Gopaul Boodan said the central borough was prepared for the storm since Saturday. He said the distribution of sandbags continued throughout yesterday and added that flooding was expected with the intense rainfall which began around mid-morning.

"In the past hour we had some heavy rainfall here. Rain is still falling, not heavy but if it continues there may be some roadside flooding in the low lying areas in the main roads. Our disaster management unit is already prepared, we are giving a lot of assistance to people with sandbags in this weather.

"So far we have the councillors in their respective areas who are also assisting with distributing sandbags. We are hoping in the next few hours the rain will ease up, but if rain continues to fall on the eastern side of Chaguanas close to Tabaquite and Tamana, well water will come through Chaguanas overnight and into tomorrow if it continues at this rate," Mayor Boodan said.