Woodland under water

Cut off from parts of their community in the wake of severe flooding, residents of La Fortune in Woodland have been sharing the same roof with their animals since Tuesday.

The home of pensioners Ramkissoon Rampersad, 72, and his wife Sheila, 73, who live at Pluck Road was, up to Friday, surrounded by water.

Heavy and persistent rain started falling on Tuesday forcing Rampersad to put his ducks and chicken on higher ground behind his home.

Like the coops, the goat pen also became flooded. His five goats “moved in” and have been staying on the steps and on the landing of the gallery.

The animals have also been on top of tables at the downstairs apartment to avoid floodwaters.

Rampersad called for officials from the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) to compensate the family.

He said, “WASA (officials) keep saying that all water belongs to them. Since this water here is theirs, they need to pay us. My son and his wife came from England to spend Christmas and now they cannot stay here.

“I can’t go anywhere. We lost everything downstairs from stove to the dryer to washer to bed. Right now, a fridge is floating in the water. Who is going to help us?”

His daughter Cherryann said severe flooding began two years ago. She attributed the problem to fishermen whom she alleged graded the banks of a nearby river to have better access for their boats and homes.

“The banks are flattened so the water is not being channelled. The river also needs dredging. So it seems fishermen have rights and other people have to suffer. Water is coming here from all directions.”

Saying no one cares about the affected residents, Cherryann added: “I have never seen the MP (Vidia Gayadeen-Gopeesingh) so I don’t know if she is a black or white woman.”

With several roads still impassable as of Friday afternoon, residents used tractors and trucks to enter and leave the community.

Another resident Devon Jaimungal said Wednesday night, the water started to rise rapidly. He said he moved back to the family’s house two months ago when a fire destroyed his home at Siparia.

The welder/fabricator and seven relatives have been affected. They together with other residents have been using the pavilion of the nearby Evergreen Recreation Grounds as their temporary shelter.

Residents were cooking when Newsday visited the grounds.

Good Samaritans including some from the Hands of Hope group at San Francique also dropped off boxes of home-cooked food via trucks to affected residents.

Jaimungal said, “We thanked them for everything. The water went down a few inches. Officials are not helping us.”

Among those distributing food were Larry Sakal, Kelly Gunness and Dove Sammy. They are part of a collaboration with full gospel churches in the area and community members to bring relief to flood victims since 2017.

An official from the Siparia Regional Corporation said several teams have been visiting affected residents to help.