Tobago, Bamboo worst hit by Tropical Storm Karen

TOBAGO and Bamboo were two of the areas worst hit by Tropical Storm Karen in September, reported Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) regional co-ordinator Eric Mackie.

He was speaking on Thursday during an event on Strengthening the Relationship Between the ODPM and DMUs (disaster management units) at the ODPM alternate National Emergency Operations Centre at Mausica.

He said the first weather alert for Karen was issued at 3.45 pm on September 20, and at 5 am of September 22 a red-level tropical storm warning was issued. He stressed that only the National Hurricane Centre has the authority to designate an area of disturbed weather as a cyclone. Mackie reported that Karen’s centre did not pass over Tobago or Trinidad, but passed north of Grenada. He said Karen affected a number of communities in TT, mostly in the northwest area of Trinidad, but in Tobago, it was much more widespread. “All over Tobago, it had some measure of impact from the system.” He showed images of the impact, including a significant amount of water at the Uriah Butler Highway/Churchill Roosevelt Highway intersection and flooding in Bamboo Settlement.

“And as we know Bamboo, was one of the major impact areas in Trinidad. There were lots of problems there. It took days to get things back to normal.” He said the meeting was meant to collectively identify lessons learned and challenges encountered by the DMUs and the ODPM before, during and after the passage of Karen and to improve the national disaster management system.