Freak storms

A storm system, which was described by residents as a tornado, did damage to at least a dozen homes and disrupted the provision of basic utilities.

“In a minute or two it did all this destruction in the bedroom and toilet area,” said resident Elvis Harricharan. “To experience something like this was really unbelievable.” But believe it or not, the reality is this type of intense, localised weather is a facet of the overall meteorological profile of Trinidad and Tobago.

The advent of the hurricane season rightly focuses attention on preparation for major storm activity. Tropical storms and hurricanes have proven devastating in territories directly affected by them.

But outside of these major storms, do we take the possibility of bad weather seriously? What the events on Thursday demonstrate is that even smaller, freak storms can do tremendous damage. They can pose a threat to life and limb. They can damage infrastructure and leave families homeless.

Therefore, authorities and communities must also take these matters seriously. We must never lose sight of the fact that during the hurricane season there is the potential for dangerous bad weather to occur.

This means local government corporations should always be ready to offer assistance where merited.

We hope the citizens of Oropouche affected by the storm are able to secure shelter and provisions during this time of need.

Siparia Regional Corporation chairman Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh was at the scene on Thursday. But the corporation must do more than simply make appearances and telephone calls.

Each regional corporation should have emergency facilities in place to offer immediate support to any family affected by a natural disaster.

Further, assistance which has been made available in the form of home repair grants should be quickly and efficiently processed.

These smaller storms are good barometers of readiness for the larger storm systems which we have luckily managed to escape thus far. If damage is being done to households due to localised systems, then we must question whether the housing stock is adequately shored up to withstand bigger threats.

There needs to be a clear and consistent building code which safeguards human life and property. Such a code must be a guideline to all constructions and should also be regularly refreshed to ensure changes in circumstances take place.

It is clear that some codes and practices do exist within the construction and engineering sectors.

Yet, one of the issues raised at two inquiries into public construction projects – the Uff inquiry and the Las Alturas inquiry – is the extent to which there is uniform compliance.

There are serious doubts as to whether the local Town and Country Planning agencies are able to work effectively and consistently throughout all communities.

The economics of house ownership, as well as the proliferation of unplanned housing communities, have made these matters all the more complex.

Citizens would, therefore, do well to be mindful of the need for sound building practices.

And also for the need to be prepared for any eventuality, even the storms between storms.