Flooding at four major junctions in Penal/Debe

Dr Allen Sammy, chairman of the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation, said flooding in areas under the corporation began at the Dabiedial Road Junction, and all four major junctions along the Penal Rock Road were also affected.

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) reported several instances of flooding in that area – Kay Trace, Mendez Village and Crawford Trace, Penal Rock Road.

Sammy said, “Within Penal/Debe itself, there was water at the intersection with the secondary schools, Holy Faith Convent and the Penal Secondary School on Clarke Road. There was also water in the Ragoonanan Trace area. Those were the areas we got reports from.”

Around Princes Town, Sammy said there was some water at Seebalack Road Junction. He said there were no reports of household flooding, but there were instances of flooded roads.

He said in a phone conversation with Newsday on Tuesday, “About two hours ago (around 1 pm on Tuesday), there was no flooding at the Poodai Lagoon, which is one the main breadbaskets in this region.

"The rain has stopped and I’m not sure what the tide is at this time, but because the ground was so dry, it would take some rain before it becomes super-saturated to cause the kind of traditional floods we usually have.”

As for other reports of damage, he said there was only one, in which a car went off the road at the Clarke Road intersection. Sammy wasn’t sure how it happened, but assumed the driver must have miscalculated how high the water was, did not know where the drain was or was trying to make a turn.

“I’ve got no other reports. Only one person asked for sandbags.”

He urged those in need of sandbags to contact the disaster unit at the regional corporation. He said there are 300 bags and there is no need to pre-order or go through any "unnecessary hassle" for them

“I think our people are so practised with flooding that they already know what precautions to take and probably have taken them already, since we deal with this every year.”