UPTATE: HDC: No evacuation in Greenvale

The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has denied social media reports that Greenvale residents were being evacuated due to flooding following heavy rainfall on Sunday.

In a live Facebook video on Sunday morning, police officer Thaddeus Carballo said after about 10 minutes of rain, "the levels of the water on the street are about two to three feet right now.

“Persons are evacuating the area in scores, police are outside trying to assist and it’s real problems right here again…So pretty soon, we’d be needing boats in here and any assistance from anybody to evacuate and secure valuables – right now people are trying to secure their vehicles and the roads are almost impassable.”

He also urged residents not to use the evacuation route that was highlighted by the HDC but instead to use La Horquetta Trace as it was the “only clear path.

“This road is clear at the moment, it’s the road with the least water at the moment.”

But in a release on Sunday afternoon, the HDC urged the public not to panic. It said, "We understand the nervousness you may experience once there is heavy rainfall but we wish to advise that the mitigation systems which have been installed in your community are functioning as they should.

"The berm is functioning as it should and continues to prevent water from surrounding watercourses from entering the Greenvale Park community."

It said pumps are on and functioning, adding that the water that was on the streets is "quickly receding and poses no threat to life of (sic) (or) property.

"The HDC's emergency response team continues to monitor the situation and will liaise with the relevant agencies if required."

Some residents had left their homes as a precautionary measure and began returning on Sunday afternoon.