Low turnout at Clifton Hill Beach on Tuesday

The public warning from the Meteorological Service (Met Office) about the hazardous sea in north-exposed coastlines might have been responsible for the poor turnout of people at a beach in south-west Trinidad on Tuesday.

Although there were scores of people at the Guapo/Clifton Hill Beach, many said it is usually "jam-packed" on long weekends and holidays.

"There were more people on the beach earlier today. It would have been difficult to get to a park on a day like today. As you can see, the beach is nice. I believe many people stay away because of the alert, thinking we are affected badly here too," a beachgoer told Newsday.

"Sometimes people would be camping out on the beach, even watching tv. Some would walk with chair sets and cook food on the beach."

On Thursday, the Met Office issued an orange-level hazardous seas alert which came into effect the next day from 2 pm at "north-exposed near shore coastal waters."

On Tuesday, the Met Office downgraded it to a yellow-level alert. It was expected to end on Wednesday at 12 pm.

Met Office's latest update on Tuesday afternoon said choppy conditions were likely, especially along north-facing coastlines.

At the beach, people were seen swimming, playing, exercising, and even catching fish.The beach does not have lifeguards.

Siblings Shawnique Lewis, seven, and two-year-old Shawndel, of Point Fortin, played on the sand with the toys they got on Christmas Day.

Their parents, who were nearby, said the children wanted to visit the beach to play with the new toys.

Samantha Ramjohn of Penal said the tides went down compared to a few hours earlier.

She said the sea appeared "normal," although the rain drizzled for a while. She, her aunt, and two cousins were fishing.

She added, "We caught two fish. The sea is a little rough compared to how it was this morning. We got here at around 8 am."

Newsday learnt that at Grand Chemin beach in Moruga as well as in Cedros, the waves were "normal."