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As clean up operations to remove tonnes of debris and slush got underway yesterday, in the aftermath of Sunday’s flash floods in downtown Port-of-Spain, Minister of Works Rohan Sinanan is promising relief as the testing of a pump to clear city drains commenced yesterday.
The pump, which will be located just outside the Port of Port-of-Spain, will pull the water from the city’s underground drains into the Gulf of Paria. If this testing is successful, according to the Minister, at least four pumps will be used at strategic locations to prevent widespread flooding in the capital city.
“The tender will close this week or by next week for the latest and once this is successful, we will have at least three to four more pumps,” Sinanan said. He blamed Sunday’s disaster on the volume of rain dumped by the passing tropical wave.
“That rain fell more than three hours and it was significant and once you get that amount of rainfall in that space of time it is going to cause a challenge with the underground drains,” the minister said.
He, however, noted that recently a robotic camera was sent underground and received images which showed that some of the underground drains were blocked from the foundations of newly-constructed buildings in the city.
“So we are hoping that this exercise with the pumps works even at high tides, and once it works we will ramp it up and have at least three to four pumps installed,” Sinanan said.
As a result of the flooding, three schools in North: Morvant Anglican Primary, St Francois Girls’ College and St Crispin’s Anglican Primary were closed yesterday, the Education Ministry confirmed. Ministry officials said there were no major damage and schools will be reopened today.
There were also reports of fallen trees in Tunapuna, Port-of- Spain and Diego Martin.
Speaking with Guardian Media yesterday, Arima Mayor Lisa Morris-Julien confirmed that the corporation had received several reports of fallen trees but admitted that they did not have the necessary equipment or machinery to remove them. She assured affected residents that once they cut and clear the trees, the corporation would remove the branches free of charge.
An official from the Diego Martin Regional Corporation said that the Diego Martin River did not burst its bank yesterday but noted there was flooding in some areas. “We had no serious reports of homes flooded out but we had workers out there to help wash down and remove debris,” the official added.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Health stated that “all public health facilities are up and running after Sunday’s flash floods in parts of north and central Trinidad.”