Greenvale residents take HDC to court over flooding

ONE hundred and four residents of the Greenvale Park Housing project in La Horquetta have filed a claim for compensation in the High Court against the Housing Development Corporation (HDC).

The claim arises out of October 2018’s devastating flooding, which still haunts them.

On Tuesday, a team of attorneys from Trinity Chambers, Port of Spain, filed the negligence, nuisance and breach of contract claim against the HDC on behalf of the residents, alleging that the construction of the development was unauthorised and unlawful.

Their claim includes various documentary evidence which seeks to show that the HDC was repeatedly warned, before construction, that the site had a propensity to flood and was unsuitable for housing.

According to the claim, the HDC constructed the development on the flood plains of the Caroni River and ignored repeated warnings from, among others, The Town and Country Planning Division (TPCD), the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), and the drainage division of the Works Ministry.

The lawsuit alleges that despite the warnings, the HDC still proceeded to construct the development without necessary statutory approvals and failed to implement and maintain adequate and effective draining or flooding measures.

It also said in the persistent rainfall on October 19, 2018, led to devastating flooding which caused loss and damage to residents.

“Flood waters inundated the development and the claimants’ housing units, which in some cases were submerged up to the rooftops. Further, sewage overflowed from the claimants’ toilets, sinks and bathroom pipes. The development was submerged for several days and the clean-up operation took the claimants several months,” the lawsuit said.

In support of their claim for loss and damage, the lawsuit contends that the units were inundated with floodwaters, covered with sludge, infected by overflowing sewage and infested with vermin.

The residents’ personal possessions, including cars, were destroyed or swept away by the floodwaters and they had to find alternative accommodation or take refuge in temporary shelters during clean-up and repairs, which are still ongoing.

The lawsuit said some residents still have not been able to return to their units while many are still living with the damage.

“The flooding event itself was highly traumatic. Certain of the claimants were swept away by the floodwaters, many of the claimants had to climb to higher grounds in fear for their lives and had to be rescued. One of the claimants is bedridden and had to be carried through the rough flood waters by fellow residents to ensure her safety. Many of the claimants are suffering from trauma, stress-related illness and anxiety, caused by both the flood event itself and having to live in the development which is unsafe and does not have adequate infrastructure to prevent further flooding,” the claim said.

The compensation being claimed by the residents covers damage done to their homes, loss of personal belongings and repair costs; claims for personal injury, pain, suffering, trauma and distress; loss of enjoyment of their units; diminution in the market value of their homes; and special damages.

One of the pieces of evidence the residents will rely on is documentation from the TCPD which allegedly refused, on five occasions, to grant planning permission for the site because the land was a flood risk.

Also attached were responses from the EMA, in which the authority refused a 2003 application for a certificate of environmental clearance to develop the land. Twice in 2008 and once in 2010, the HDC’s own sub-contractors warned of a “potential and realised risk of severe flooding,” the lawsuit said. A 2011 letter was also annexed from the drainage division of the ministry which said the development will “almost certainly cause additional flooding-related problems.”

In their claim, the residents alleget the HDC owed them a duty of care to ensure all approvals were obtained before construction; implement and maintain effective and adequate drainage, flood prevention and disaster management systems; provide them with decent, safe and attractive housing fit for long-term habitation; ensure their safety and that of their property; ensure final approval was given from the regional corporation before occupation; and to protect them from danger and warn them of the dangers created by the construction of waste management and flood prevention systems.

The residents’ claim said they had paid the purchase price on their units through their mortgages, while others who have on a licence to own agreement have paid monthly fees to the HDC, and the corporation has breached the implied terms of the agreements by offering units for sale that were not safe, sanitary, decent, attractive or reasonably fit for human habitation.

They have also accused the HDC of making fraudulent representations to them.