Corporation distributes flood relief for affected people

For the month of October, Trinidad has recorded 143.6 millimetres of rain so far which left many dishevelled because of the high and constant flood waters.

There was also one reported death of a woman Theresa Lynch of Lopinot who was swept away by flood waters in the Surrey River, on Wednesday.

Acting chairman of the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation Travis Williams offered his condolences to the family of Lynch on Saturday.

"As acting chairman and as a human I was devastated to hear of the loss of Lynch in Lopinot. There are no words that can suffice to provide comfort or solace to her family and friends in their time of bereavement. As a corporation we join in mourning her loss and will as soon as possible, make connection with her family. I know that the entire community of Lopinot is devastated by this unfortunate event and will rally together with her family."

He the entire Tunapuna/Piarco region was significantly affected by flooding over and people were dealing with the effects up to Saturday afternoon as flooding persisted in Kelly Village and Arima Old Road.

"The last time we saw a disaster of this nature was in the devastating floods of 2018. Over the past few days we have had some compromise to the structural integrity of a few bridges and roads, five major landslides from Aripo to Caura to Blanchisseuse and several families impacted by flooding with loss of household items, some cars, and a few people losing almost everything," said Williams.

He said the Disaster Management Unit (DMU) was activated and with the support of Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Faris Al-Rawi they were able to offer relief to the affected people.

"The team at our line ministry and through our councillors, we have been able to provide relief to some affected persons in the form cleaning supplies, mattresses, sand bags and food hampers. We intend to also work toward providing water trucking services and cesspool trucks to alleviate some of the resultant public health challenges."

Williams the DMU will continue to conduct assessments of losses incurred by people in the area for the various agencies of state.

"As a corporation we have focused on a major drain and water course cleaning and rehabilitation exercise in collaboration with the Ministry of Works and Transport. This is ongoing. One of our other elements of focus has and will continue to be public education on illegal housing construction, improper waste disposal and personal disaster preparedness."

Williams said some of the areas are flooded every rainy season and while the corporation is aware of how difficult that must be, there is no one solution.

"We must all do our part to mitigate its effects, including some level of personal responsibility. As we weather this storm, I want to take the opportunity to encourage all of our burgesses to exercise a high degree of personal responsibility; stay out of flood waters, do not attempt to drive through flooded areas, do not attempt to wade through water."

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) offered the same advice in its release on Friday and reminded that the threat of flooding and landslides still exists in vulnerable areas.

"Persons should remain vigilant as water levels can still rise in low-lying areas and the saturated soil can result in landslides."

The ODPM said it received help from the Defence Force in clearing landslides in Cumaca, Sangre Grande and assisted with placing sandbags in Real Spring Housing Development, Valsayn.

"Relief items such as mattresses, food items and water are also being distributed by the various municipal corporations in the areas in which the flood water has subsided."

The ODPM also held a meeting with various ministries and other relevant authorities support affected persons and infrastructure to ensure normalcy as quickly as possible.