Weekend cleanup: THA wants full normality by Monday

VARIOUS arms of the Division of Infrastructure, Quarries and Urban Development (DIQUD) are working in collaboration with the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) to get Tobago back to normal by Monday.

At a media conference on Friday, Chief Secretary Farley Augustine said DIQUD staff and machinery have been deployed and will be working over the weekend. Secretary of Infrastructure Trevor James is in charge of the major works and assistant secretary Joel Sampson is handling the minor clean-up work.

Augustine said almost 70 people from ten families have had to be relocated owing to damage from tropical wave Invest91L. These families are from Delaford, Cradley, Rockly Vale, Les Coteaux, Golden Lane, Belle Garden, Bacolet, Castara and Mt Pleasant.

Augustine said what was concerning was the inability of infrastructure to withstand the effects of the tropical wave.

"We are seeing public infrastructure that really and truly cannot stand up. All we had was heavy rainfall over a two-day period. We did have some high winds about two nights ago, but by majority all we had was heavy rainfall.

"If we are seeing these challenges, I am very concerned about the state of our public and private infrastructure. The last thing I would ever want happen to Tobago is a repeat of Hurricane Flora."

Flora, packing winds of 193 km/h (120mph), struck Tobago as a category 3 hurricane on September 30, 1963. According to data from www.hurricanescience.org, Flora's fury led to 6,250 of the 7,500 houses on the island being damaged or destroyed. It also claimed 24 lives.

"As an island, we have to take a look at how we build, our infrastructure, our maintenance regimens, how we prepare ourselves for these kind of eventualities."

Augustine also urged Tobagonians to be mindful about how and where they build their homes. He said he is cognisant that many people do not have land title and are unable to get loans from the bank, so they construct with limited resources, but he said if certain standards are not met then disaster would inevitably follow.

Augustine said the primary objective of the disaster response was to deal with the landslides on the major roads, to allow traffic to flow. He said the agencies will now move into the various communities to help those affected on a smaller scale.

He said there have been 326 reports to TEMA since the tropical wave hit on Wednesday – 50 per cent landslides, 16 per cent flooding.

Mason Hall/Moriah electoral representative Ian Pollard was on the ground in his electoral district on Friday assessing the damage and the clean-up operations.

"The roads are clear in this electoral district," he said. "We're glad for the sunshine. DIQUD did wonderful work removing slush and debris."

James also gave an update on the work of his division.

"The Northside road is passable...Essentially, Highlands is clear. The guys there are waiting on some sunlight to remove the slush. Culloden Bay, an equipment broke down and is awaiting some parts....We are working through the weekend....We have a crew on Plymouth Bay... All in all, we are on the ball."

Augustine said 90 per cent of schools have been hit by the bad weather, with the sewer systems of some also affected.

He praised the work of TEMA, which he rated as "the best disaster management agency in the Caribbean." He said the THA was able to make timely decisions because TEMA was better prepared and better informed.

He said even though predictions are not precise, "We choose to err on the side of caution."

TEMA director Allan Stewart said the response of the agency to natural disasters comes at a cost.

"We have been in contact with ODPM, who is also looking at our needs list. I did point out earlier, within the last 28 days, this is the second type of activation that we have had to be undertaking – it taxes on the resources that we have.

"So in order to keep in a state of readiness for the next possible event, we have to restock."

Stewart said this is important, as the hurricane season is not over.

While unable to put a figure on the damage caused by the tropical wave, Augustine said the resources allocated to alleviate the damage will affect Tobago's development plan.

"No Secretary of Finance ever wants to take a second look at the programme of work for a fiscal year because of a natural disaster, but this becomes a priority."

Augustine said a THA sub-committee to assist in the social response has been formed.
"We don't want any tardiness when it comes to responding to the families in need," he said.