Frustrated by flooding over the past few months, residents of the Bel Air, La Romaine, say the highway construction is to blame and they want the problem to be resolved immediately.
Several residents were unable to go to work or send their children to school yesterday because they were marooned by flood waters which rose on Monday evening after a torrential shower, invading their homes and community.
Residents said materials used in the construction of the Solomon Hochoy Highway extension to Point Fortin have clogged the drains in their community, causing the water to back up.
Highway contractor OAS, residents said, up to yesterday was trying to pump out the water which rose to about two feet in some places.
Speaking with T&T Guardian yesterday, Richard Anderson said the situation was unacceptable.
“The rain came down yesterday (Monday) for about half-an-hour and the place got flooded out, almost two feet of water in front my house and in the yard a foot. A lot of sand and gravel came down.
“To the back of my house is where they are doing the new highway. We never had these problems before.”
However, he said since May the area has flooded about four times.
Recalling when his home was flooded on October 10, he said: “Everything got soaked. The walls are gypsum. The tiles in the bathroom came out and in the kitchen presently the tiles are being raised up, there is also mould.”
Saying it was obvious the flooding was being caused by the highway work, he said: “We need a solution to this problem.”
He said officials of OAS, Penal Debe Corporation, Drainage and Minister of Works visited the community yesterday.
Another resident, Raquel Noble, said if the drainage was not fixed, flooding would continue and it was a health risk.
She added: “We have children. It is not sanitary. There is stagnant water in the drain so we are thinking about the mosquitoes.
“When the water is gone and the snakes and worms are left, who has to get rid of that? It is not like they are going to sanitise the area for us. This is our greatest fear.”
She said since May they complained about blocked drains and no run off for the water.
“We don’t want temporary relief,” she said.
Robert Baird said when he returned home from work on Monday, he was shocked and frightened when he saw the height of the water on the road but he still took “a chance” to drive through it to get to his home.
“At least four houses on the lower level were totally flooded out. Some vehicles were blocked because of the flood in the road. It was terrible,” he said.
Calling on the authorities to urgently address the situation, he said: “They are concentrating on the highway. It is most important to get it done and they are not studying the residents and communities in the area and proper drainage.
“They are taking the waste materials from the highway and dumping it on the side of the roadway and the drains are totally filled.”
He said to compound matters, they had no running water because a water line was ruptured during the highway works.
Another resident, Karen Archie, described the situation as scary, saying she was also worried about future flooding.
“Right now there is water in my house. OAS is responsible for the drainage system. I cannot understand, have they stopped thinking in a humane way? We have families here. It is not a nice situation.”