It was the worst and most frightening flooding ever witnessed in San Fernando.
This is how residents described Monday's flooding which saw trapped residents being rescued by dinghy after the Cipero River burst its banks. The raging waters gushed into homes, marooning residents. Some roads, such as Scott Street and San Fernando Bypass, were transformed into rivers making it impassible. The search and rescue unit from the Mon Repos Fire Station, led by Acting Assistant Chief Fire Officer Patrick Sealey and Acting Assistant Divisional Fire Officer, Mon Repos, Mervyn Humphrey, at 9 pm on Monday had rescued about ten people from Coconut Drive and Victoria Village.
One such victim was Frankie Richards who was trapped in a wooden house which could have been easily swept away by the Cipero River. Thanking the officers for saving him, Richards said: "I am grateful but I could handle myself." His neighbour, Ian Ali, could not get to his home. He said that was the first time in over a decade the area had flooded that severely. He added: "I knew the river was going to overflow but I did not expect it to be this bad. I'll wait till it goes down some more before I go home." Fed up with the frequent flooding many residents now want to be relocated. Mala Kalicharan, who lives with seven family members at Tarouba, complained her wooden home could collapse at anytime. "I not able again. The house shaking. We can't go upstairs. I want them to relocate us. I don't want no mattress or hamper. I want a house," she cried. Ruth and her husband, Ramnarace Balkaran, also wants a new home.
She said she had to wade through breast-high water to get out of her home. Her two sons and their wives live in the downstairs apartment which was submerged in flood waters. "We want three HDC houses. We cannot live here no longer," she said. Former mayor of San Fernando, Ian Atherly, who was out in the field helping residents, said he had never before seen such flooding in San Fernando.