Hundreds of people were stranded yesterday and had to be rescued by trucks as several parts of Central Trinidad experienced major flooding during excessive rains. A wooden house in Gordon Village, Tortuga collapsed leaving its occupants homeless and cesspits overflowed, posing a health hazard. The Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation and the fire service worked from Thursday evening, when the flooding began, throughout the night to bring relief to thousands of affected residents.
The corporation’s chairman Henry Awong said he was still tallying figures on how many people were affected. He said affected areas included Mamoral, Caparo, Todd’s Road, San Raphael and several parts of Cunupia and Las Lomas. Awong said the overflowing Caparo River was the major cause of the flooding. “The river was dredged recently and these areas did not flood for a long time. “However, the excessive rain caused the river to burst its banks.”
Other corporation workers were kept busy distributing hampers and mattresses to families whose homes were flooded out. Downtown Chaguanas did not have major flooding but parts of nearby Edinburgh 500, like Balmoral Park, experienced flash flooding. Streets were flooded out with water entering residents’ premises. The water subsided within a few hours and left broken pitch from the road in some parts.