Arouca hit hard by flooding

Residents of the Eastern Main Road in Arouca have been hit hard by flooding since the beginning of the rainy season. But Saturday was the worst by far.

Revan Mohammed said the business place at which he worked flooded six times this month alone with the last time being just the day before. He finished cleaning up around 11 pm on Friday night, and had to do it all again the next morning.

“We never see water like this. We usually get a slight something in the road but this time we couldn’t see the pavement which is higher than the roadway by far. And normally only the front room will flood but today (Saturday) it reach in the back room.”

He added that he lived nearby and his home had never flooded. On Saturday however, the water was high enough to get into his yard close to his front door. He was fearful that, next time, his home would flood as well.

Malika Robinson said she had been living at her current location for 17 years but she had never experienced flooding like she saw this year, and like Saturday in particular.

She too said her home had been flooded at least five times since the rainy season began in June. However, on Saturday, instead of a few inches of water, there was about two feet of it in her home.

When Newsday spoke to Robinson on Saturday, she said she was not yet sure if her washing machine was working and there was flood water in her fridge. She also had to monitor the home anytime the rain started to fall to know if to put the furniture up on bricks.

“It’s kind of exhausting honestly because we don’t have a water pump so my mother and I have to clean up with a bucket and broom. Then we have to deal with the slush and the debris in the yard.”

She also expressed concern for her mother who had to deal with the flooding, bricks and clean up when she was at work.

Claudette Bissoon said many of her groceries and other possessions were destroyed in last week’s floods as there were “no high places” in the home. These, she said, included a washing machine, refrigerator, and stove.

“Today (Saturday) real flood. It had a lot of water. It raise to about two and a half feet so it has plenty slush and mud. I feel like it’s every day I doing this (cleaning), every time the rain falls heavy.”

She said there were two nearby watercourses and when they were full they “backed up” and caused the flooding. And because of the frequent heavy rainfall recently, they were usually full. However, she said once the rain lightened to a drizzle or stopped falling, the water in her home receded quickly.

Bissoon added that she was not employed because she had liver and lung problems, and so would appreciate any assistance she could get, especially food hampers.