MSJ: Bad weather a wake-up call

RECENT bad weather, including high winds and flooding, is something Trinidad and Tobago must take heed of.

Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) political leader David Abdulah made this observation during a virtual news conference on Sunday.

"All of these are wake-up signs."

While climate change was something that was previously dismissed by many people worldwide, Abdulah said this is no longer the case.

He said the recent adverse weather in TT and other parts of the world suggest that over time, these events will happen with greater frequency and ferocity.

In TT, Abdulah said, successive governments have failed to put measures in place to mitigate against the effect of natural disasters. He also said regulatory authorities have dropped the ball when it came to issues such as building codes, locations where certain types of infrastructure are put down and maintenance of existing infrastructure over time.

He said serious effort must be made to address these deficiencies because while property can be replaced or repaired, loss of life as a result of natural disasters cannot, and must be avoided.

Abdulah said the MSJ has spoken about building resilience against natural disasters in the past. He identified establishment of a special infrastructure fund as one of the suggestions the party has offered as part of this conversation.

Abdulah added that tackling long-standing issues such as reafforestation of the Northern Range, regulation of private development on hillsides and illegal quarrying will go a long way towards mitigating some of the threats posed to the population by different types of natural disaster.

"Let us get our act together."