Fierce winds unleashed terror on residents of the south western peninsular yesterday, smashing some ten homes, uprooting trees, toppling powerlines, overturning boats and leaving four communities marooned.
The winds, accompanied by lightning, thunder and heavy rains, pounded houses at Icacos, Fullarton, Los Gallos and Icacos, between 10 pm to 1 am yesterday.A visibly-shaken Reshma James said all she could do was grab her two-month-old baby and run for her life through the pouring rain.
When James returned to her house, she found a tree had crashed through the roof, destroying most of her valuables.
Wiping away tears, James said the incident was "the worst" she ever experienced.
She said the roaring winds came without warning. "When I heard the galvanise sheets flapping, I just grabbed the baby and my son Jamie and we started to run to the neighbour," James recalled. She said minutes later the tree fell on top of the house."If we had stayed there we could have died," James said.
Up to midday yesterday, scores of residents remained marooned in their homes, as they waited for flood waters to subside.Vice chairman of the Siparia Regional Corporation, Fitzroy Beache, toured the flooded regions and a team from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), using a helicopter, conducted an aerial survey of the damage.
Trucks transporting mattresses and food hampers arrived at Cedros after midday and were distributed to scores of affected families, many of whom appeared visibly shaken. Residents of St Quintin Estates, Los Gallos and Icacos, however, were still awaiting help up to late yesterday.
At the Icacos coast, four houses belonging to Dhanrajie Ackool, Chalmattie Jaggernauth, Rupert Marcelle and Bombay Ackool were smashed by the winds.Dhanrajie, who spent the night under a tree, said she immediately fled her home when she spotted "everything blowing away."She added: "I was so terrified.
I was asleep when the winds came. I start to bawl because everything was blowing away. I faint and my son took me outside.
"When we come back this morning, we saw the house like this," Dhanrajie wept, pointing to her roofless home.At Fullarton, a silk cotton tree crashed on top of a resident's home, smashing it into two parts. Dave Bissoon and his family were also rendered homeless because their home was also destroyed.
The wooden walls, furniture and appliances were broken into pieces by the winds.Forty-five pigs, belonging to Frankie Ramsey, also drowned in the floods.Students of Icacos Government Primary School were forced to remain at home as the roads, strewn with debris, were impassible.
T&TEC crews, led by senior supervisor of Field Operations Denesh Maharaj, were working to restore power to the affected villages. Up to late yesterday, crews were seen removing live electrical wires from roads which were cordoned off.
Relief efforts were underway yesterday as officials from the ODPM's office, the Ministry of Health and the Defence Force Engineer Battalion visited flood ravaged areas in south and central Trinidad.
In a statement issued, ODPM said an area of disturbed weather produced thundershowers and fierce winds.Municipal corporations were contacted to conduct an initial damage assessment of the impacted areas and Cepep crews were recruited to assist in clean-up efforts, the release said.
Officials of the Ministry of the People and Social Development were also providing relief."The ODPM and the municipal corporations will be providing tarpaulins, sleeping equipment and food supplies to those in need," the release said.Persons affected by adverse weather conditions can contact 800-6376 for assistance.
The ODPM also advised citizens to ensure they stock up on emergency supplies, including a first aid kit, bottled water, canned items and plastic sheeting.