Despite the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service’s forecast for an active hurricane season and a “volatile and erratic” Wet Season, Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation (TPRC) chairman Desell Austin says they are ready to respond to any eventualities.
Austin explained that since coming into office in August 2023, through regional coordinating meetings, they had adopted a collaborative approach to tackling issues within the municipality.
“(We) have partnered with the Ministry of Works and Transport’s Drainage Division and Highways Division for better coordination. Where you find our local drains that run into major drains, we are uniting and ensuring they are all cleaned,” he said.
Historically, whether it is roads or rivers, different roadways or watercourses fall under the Ministry of Works and Transport or the respective municipalities, and this has led to different treatment of the issue based on available funding. Austin says he is moving the corporation away from pointing fingers.
This follows unusually prolonged flooding at the Pasea intersection on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway’s eastbound lanes last week. All lanes and the Pasea Main Road remained inundated for hours after an isolated thunderstorm.
According to Jlynn Roopnarine, councillor for Curepe/Pasea within the TPRC, a drain that runs under the highway before Macoya has become clogged. However, the drains paralleling the highway were also blocked, leading to the prolonged floods last week.
The TPRC chairman added, “What I have done, having been a councillor since 2016 is that I’ve identified those shortcomings and moved away from the blame game. As much as we were in touch with the chief planning engineer at the Ministry of Works and Transport’s Drainage Division, we recognised that manpower was needed. So we wouldn’t just pass the buck and say, ‘Hey, we’ll wait on you to do that,’ and we realise that manpower was needed to get down there, as nasty as it was.”
The TPRC’s health team cleaned the drain along the highway, but the blockage below the highway still exists.
The TPRC stretches from Trinidad’s north coast, as far as Blanchisseuse, to Cumuto in the east, to Cunupia in the south, and to Maracas Valley in the west, encompassing over 270,000 people. As a result, the TPRC deals with significant floods to the south and landslides in remote areas to the north. Covering the entire area during times of disaster not only poses a logistical challenge but also a financial one.
Austin explained, “We’ve recognised that with other local governments, the issue of funding would arise. But what are we to do in this term? Are we to just sit there and complain about the funding or find ways to get it done?”
Austin continued, “I’ve noted on both sides of the fence, even in other corporations that are UNC-run, we recognise that they are partnering with private bodies. We, too, are doing that. We are in the largest cooperation by population. And we have several private bodies waiting and always there to assist.”
This year, Austin said, “Through our Disaster Management Unit, there were several tours in malls and schools, and dealing with volunteers. We have a full complement of volunteers. We’ve gotten the sandbags and everything necessary to treat the issues once they arrive. And I think we are very much ready, at least in anticipation of this type of season.”