Flood stress in Penal

OFFICIALS are still doing assessments but heavy traffic, inundated homes and impassable roads are leading some residents of Rock Road, Penal to describe flooding on November 12 as some of the worst they've experienced.

Sustained, heavy downpours on the day left many parts of Penal, Barrackpore and Woodland submerged in water. Rock Road, Penal was among the hardest hit, with water up to four feet deep in some areas.

Floods reportedly receded by 2 am on November 13 and many residents wasted no time in starting clean-up. Some continued into the morning.

Shortly before midday at Goodman Trace Asavari Gooberdhan, 31, a private preschool owner and entrepreneur, was busy trying to salvage what she could at her home business, which was  knee-deep in water.

While she had not yet done an assessment, she believes her losses are "in the thousands."

"A lot of furniture damaged, appliances...here is not just a school, I also have a mini-business, and a lot of the goods was lost.

"I also have a game-rental business and everything was lost."

Her brother Anil, 36, described the disaster as the worst flood they had ever experienced.

He runs a car-detailing business and lost his pressure washer, among other items.

No strangers to the phenomenon, as the area is prone to flooding, they said measures were put in place over the years to minimise losses. However, November 12's floods trumped most of their countermeasures.

"Every time we try to have preventative measures, it just keeps getting worse. I know flooding is a natural disaster, but at the same point in time we can do things, the government (and) the regional corporation could do things to reduce the impact. The major rivers have not been properly dredged and the banks of the rivers have not been properly reinforced."

A video posted on social media taken just a few feet from their home showed the height of the floods as a tractor towed a car through water which covered its bonnet and rose to the windshield.

WASA supplies pipe-borne water to Rock Road

Armed with a pressure washer on the morning of November 13, Deva Seenath, 50, said he began cleaning at his Rock Road home at 4 am, three hours after the water receded. He said he could not wait until a pipe-borne supply was sent to begin the clean-up.

"Today, all them tanks and them I going to finish it out on this yard. We have no choice."

"That mud going to stick. That mud going to come like paint. You see the condition of that?"

A similar sentiment was shared by the Gooberdhans, who said they hardly received a regular supply under good circumstances.

"It's past the peak of the rainy season and we are still under a water schedule from WASA where we receive water two days every three weeks. On a normal, that's not sufficient, and especially now, where we need that clean water to help clean and have the place back up to a standard.

"We don't have a choice. We can't live like this. Remain in this stench?"

Many parts of south and central Trinidad were on adjusted water-supply schedules from the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) owing to a planned shutdown of the Desalination Company of TT (Desalcott) until November 17 for maintenance work.

Acting CEO Kelvin Romain said last week the 40 million gallons per day shortfall amounts to 40 per cent of the water supplied to the region. He said production would have been ramped up at plants to compensate, but the schedule adjustment and prudent consumer usage were needed to ensure the already lower-than-average reservoirs did not run dry.

An update on WASA's Facebook page said as of November 7, the Caroni/Arena reservoir was at 51.7 per cent, the Hollis reservoir at 57.17 per cent and the Navet reservoir at 48.15 per cent. The long-term averages for the period are between 81 and 82 per cent.

Despite this constraint, Romain told Newsday on November 13 that some supply from its Navet Water Treatment Plant was diverted to the three-and-a-half mile marker of Penal Rock Road to assist in clean-up operations. This, he said, would benefit areas like Mulchan Trace, Semungal Trace, Penal Rock Road and surrounding areas. He said the supply would be sustained for 24 hours.

Waters still rising in some areas

While floods receded along Rock Road and its immediate environs, many westward parts like further inside Goodman Trace remained inundated, impassable by anything other than high vehicles.

The water migrating from the flooded areas out to sea was stopped by the rising tide, causing tributaries to overflow. This led to flooding downstream in Suchit Trace, Gopie Trace and Batchyia Branch Trace by Wednesday morning. With only high vehicles able to pass, this forced most drivers onto the main road, resulting in heavy traffic.

Also affected were the scantily populated Pluck Road, Woodland and environs, which were under around a foot of water at the time Newsday visited. Those living near the road looked on as the waters made their way into their property. One man, who did not want to be identified, told Newsday he was fed up of the floods, which he suffered up to five times annually.

"My 80-year-old mother-in-law never had to go through this as a child, but have to face it now in she old age," he said.

The man said they had pleaded tirelessly for proper drainage in the area but lamented nothing had been done.

Schools reopen amidst floods

Despite rising waters on both days, schools in the affected communities reopened on November 13.

Up to 8 am on November 13, gates were open at the Penal Presbyterian Primary School, Penal Vedic Primary School, Suchit Trace Hindu School, Penal Secondary School and Penal Convent.

But noticeably missing were the traffic and scores of students entering the schools. Sources at one school told Newsday there was an estimated 12.5 per cent student attendance.

The Kubairsingh Penal Rock Hindu School remained closed, as about a foot of water remained on the road.

TT Unified Teachers Association president Martin Lum Kin condemned the Ministry of Education's slow approach to dismissing schools on November 12 amidst the downpour and rising water which forced many students and parents to wade through the floodwaters to get home.

"Schools had to wait hours to get permission from the Ministry of Education to dismiss school."

"This incident highlights, once again, the Ministry of Education's attempt to micromanage schools. Persons who are in their ivory towers on St Vincent Street, Education Towers, and who have no idea as to what is taking place in the various communities want to once again micromanage schools."

He said section 27 of the Education Act gives principals the authority to dismiss schools, independent of the ministry's input, in the interest of health and safety.

"The Ministry of Education is once again playing with the lives of educators and students."

Newsday was unable to get a response from Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly.

PDRC assisting affected residents

The Penal Debe Regional Corporation (PDRC) stepped in on November 12 to help transport stranded students and workers through the floods and to their homes in the Rock Road area. Chairman Gowtam Maharaj said the corporation transported about 1,000 people in 25 trips between 3 pm and 8 pm.

In an interview with Newsday outside the Siparia MP's office, Maharaj was unable to give a breakdown of how many homes were affected and the extent of damage, as assessments were still ongoing. However, he said crews were in Mulchan Trace, Seemungal Trace and Goodman Trace helping residents clean up.

"We are providing the labour, the pumps and other machinery to be able to assist these residents."

He said while the corporation was using its ten-day contracted workforce for this, they required additional hands from government authorities and supplies.

He said there were projects under the various ministries, including Rural Development and Local Government, Works and Transport and Agriculture, which, if executed, could help mitigate flooding in the municipality.

On November 12 Maharaj declared the affected areas a "disaster zone." This prompted military vehicles to be deployed to help. He said at least three families had to be evacuated from their homes and taken to an emergency shelter in Barrackpore. The families, he said, returned home on the morning of November 13 and the shelter closed.

Newsday was unable to reach the head of the Office of Disaster Management and Preparedness, retired Maj Gen Rodney Smart, for comment, but was reliably informed the TT Regiment vehicles are scheduled for relief operations on November 14 and 15 in the Penal Debe municipality.

Maharaj said the PDRC's assets would also be on standby to assist residents along the western end of Penal as waters rose.

Newsday was unable to reach Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Faris Al-Rawi via calls or WhatsApp messages. However, a member of his staff said its equipment was also on standby to help.

Newsday was told Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) workers were also instructed to help clean up once the water subsided. In addition, the staffer said 100 hampers were sent to assist residents.

Also distributing care packages on November 13 was Opposition Leader and Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar. She boarded one of the military vehicles to distribute cleaning supplies, water and sandwiches to residents of Goodman Trace.

She was accompanied by St Augustine MP Khadijah Ameen, Princes Town MP Barry Padarath, the PDRC chairman and members of the regional corporation's council.