Although no specific cost can be given at this time, the cleanup effort for the Sangre Grande region, one of the hardest hit by floods and damage caused by torrential rains over the past few days, will be expensive, Sangre Grande Regional Corporation chairman Terry Rondons aid yesterday. “Tomorrow (today) when we get back to the office we are going to assess all that has happened,” Rondon told the T&T Guardian.
“Since Thursday we were out in Valencia, so we do not have a cost as yet. But it is an expensive exercise we went through. We had trucks on the road, workers and other resources. We are not only thinking of the cost but also the people and getting to families that have been affected for three days.” He said yesterday they finished cleaning up Marchak and Adventist Streets in Sangre Grande.
Up to Saturday, 15 families had been trapped in their homes because of the flood waters, he added. “The regional corporation came out in full force and they did a fantastic job with limited resources. There were families trapped on Marchak Street, but water subsided by Saturday night and we got these families out and started to sanitise their yards,” he said. He said the corporation went beyond the call, but now the Central Government has to do its part.
“The regional corporation are the first responders, but we are not the people to make a thorough assessment of what has happened. We appeal to the Government, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Works, Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC), Telecommunication Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT), they have to come in and make their assessment. We all have to look at the cost and extent of the damage done,” he said.
Rondon also said T&T is not prepared if a natural disaster hits on a large scale. “The regional corporations still have to wait for the government to give instructions before we can act during an emergency. We still do not have autonomy to do the job,” he said. “If a roof is blown off someone's house we must have the autonomy to make a decision on the spot. After we give people some food and a mattress, what else can we do?”
Diego Martin Regional Corporation chairman Daryl Smith said while they did have any major flooding, they were now assisting people whose homes were damaged by felled trees and other objects. “We were not affected as badly as the Sangre Grande and other areas. There were about 30 houses with roofs that were blown off and Self Help and other agencies are helping us with that. Our councillors were on the ground with them trying to get material and labour to those who need it quickly,” he said.
Acknowledging Environment and Water Resources Ganga Singh’s claim that there is no “quick fix” to the drainage problem in Diego Martin, Smith said he had submitted a drainage plan, but their budget is much smaller than what they had requested.
“We got less than what I requested, so now we have to again heavily rely on the Ministry of Water Resources to come in and do a study so when dry season comes in they can do their cement work and other things to upgrade the drains. This is not a quick fix and it could take some years. Cleaning is not the only solution we need to build retention walls and big wider drains,” he said.
The Meteorological Office yesterday indicated T&T is no longer under a flood watch. As such, those bulletins were discontinued yesterday morning.