SHASTRI BOODAN
A freak storm in Central Trinidad has left 10 people without a proper place to sleep, tonight. Around 8:30 am on Saturday, a freak storm hit two houses in Palmiste Village along the Caparo Valley Brasso Road. High winds tore the roof off one of the structures. The galvanized steel sheets then ripped off nearby telephone wires.
Fedel Marajah, 47, a mechanic, told Guardian Media the breeze ripped off the roof of the house that is divided into two apartments. Marajah said he was appealing for assistance to rebuild the roof. He shares the apartment with his wife Cindy Sooklal, 33, and their children—8-year-old Dominic, 15-year-old Abigail, and 21-year-old Fedel.
The other apartment is occupied by Ryan Sooklal, 28, and his common law wife Thelma Gueverra, 43, along with her son 14-year-old Josiah Ablack, and 57-year-old Indra Tilkaran.
Cindy Sooklal, a food vendor, said she was asleep on her bed with her son when she heard a noise and then the rain started wetting her.
“We sleeping, and we feel that we getting wet and we run out,” she told Guardian Media. “Remember you sleeping, and you shocked, and you couldn’t grab anything… We just run across outside… We ent get to save nothing… everybody in their nightgown."
At the time she spoke with Guardian Media, Sooklal and her family had not had anything to eat. She said the rain had damaged all the furniture, appliances, schoolbooks and the children’s computers. Sooklal said she had managed to salvage some clothing and groceries.
She said the roof was so badly damaged that she did not know where she would spend the night. Sooklal said because of the condition of the overhead wooden beams, she did not believe that the tarpaulins given to them by the Disaster Management Unit (DMU) of the Couva/Tabaquite/ Talparo Regional Corporation (CTTRC), would be of any help should a heavy deluge hit the area.
Meanwhile, Gueverra, who works in a chicken depot, said she was at work when she got the bad news. Guverra said all of Josiah’s books were damaged and she lost all of her clothes and appliances.
Ryan Sooklal, who also works in the poultry industry, said life had been very difficult since the pandemic and he was not getting regular work because of the economy.
Charles Seeraj, who lives across the road, lost six roofing sheets and was given a tarpaulin and a mattress from the DMU.
Gopichan Ramnath, Shawn Redhead, Anissa Ramjag and Wendy Hardeen of the DMU at the CTTRC responded with relief items for the distressed residents.
Ramnath said the DMU got the call around 10:30 am and contacted the different agencies to get the utilities disconnected. Ramnath said the DMU was able to provide mattresses and tarpaulins and other relief items.
In a telephone interview with Guardian Media, CTTRC Chairman Henry Awong urged members of the public to inspect their roofs and conduct repairs.
“We would like persons to take a proactive approach and repair their roofs, change rotten beams, install hurricane straps,” Awong urged. “This can save you from incurring tremendous losses.”
The CTTRC chairman added: “People who cannot afford must have access to funds from the National Commission for Self Help Limited to do preventative maintenance. Self Help, too, must get on board and be proactive and make themselves more accessible to persons who cannot afford.”