PRIME Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar last evening promised Tobagonians her Government would do all it can to assist them following yesterday’s massive flooding and landslides in the aftermath of Hurricane Tomas.
She said she could not believe the devastation she had seen, especially in Roxborough, where the flooding was particularly severe.
However, she commended the Tobagonians for their resilience saying, “You know what I found very striking when I came was that the people were in such good spirits still and they were saying what I said, which is ‘thank God it could have been much worse’. So we are alive, there has been, as far as I know there has been up to now no loss of life …. there is property damage, we can fix property damage, …. it’s impossible to deal with loss life.”
She made the comment during a press conference at Crown Point Airport last night, after she toured the island with National Security Minister Brigadier John Sandy and Minister of Tobago Development Vernella Alleyne-Toppin.
Yesterday, several roads and homes were flooded and utility lines were brought down, cutting off electricity and communications in some areas, as floods brought by a feeder band of Tomas caused havoc.
Residents at the Roxborough Housing Project, which is under the Tobago House of Assembly, said they had never seen such devastation since moving to their homes.
There were also several landslides and flooding in villages such as Belle Garden, Mt St George, Argyle, Canaan, Mt Pleasant, Crown Point and Pembroke.
“A guy came calling me and telling me the place flooding … When I do come out I see the whole place with water like if is a river,” Roxborough resident Anslem Edwards told the Express.
“Well this morning the rain started falling and when I came outside I realised the water rising slowly. I did not expect it to rise to levels of approximately three feet. The entire road, every single house here was totally surrounded by water,” another resident, Avison Duke, said.
Added Colleen Philbert, “In no time at all, the water just rise and flooding inside the houses and them, especially mine, and when I look I see the washing machine going down the road.”
Residents continued mopping-up operations late into last evening, while THA officials were on hand making assessments. (Trinidad Express)
