Over 40 roofs were either partially or fully blown off as Bret rampaged across the island leaving downed power lines and toppled trees in its wake.

Mayaro MP Rushton Paray said the devastation was so widespread that councillors and aldermen of the Mayaro/ Rio Claro Regional Corporation had been asked to prioritise their projects as there was limited funding available.

“The corporation is mobilising, we had over 40 roofs blown off, so that is the priority right now because we have some pending bad weather still based on the bands that are coming in – so the priority is to cover those houses,” Paray said in an interview at the corporation yesterday.

“The second item is to get some basic food supplies and water to families that are in dire need and the third would be addressing issues of flooding.” He said electricity and water supplies were cut at 8.37 pm on Monday leaving the constituency in darkness.

When Newsday visited the communities yesterday, electricity and water had still not been restored while business places, including gas stations, fast food outlets and groceries were shut. Paray noted that the communications network had proved to be challenging as both mobile providers had limited service in the region. “The communications network is down, Digicel is down, Bmobile has dropped their power in terms of reducing some of their mobile tower heights so communications with the councillors, with the people, with disaster management unit teams is proving to be a challenge this morning but we trying our best to make it work.

“The priority right now is to cover the homes and get the families back into the homes.

Obviously as first responder, the disaster management unit is like a trauma surgeon, you manage the situation so by tomorrow social services are going to come in and they have another suite of support.” He said there was severe flooding in several areas such as Enid Village, Navet Village, Mabalsingh and Crapaud Flats in Biche where several homes were still under water. Paray said Mayaro did not experience any flooding as the area was “well drained” with the emphasis placed on rivers and drains during the dry season.

For his part, Mayaro/ Guayaguayare councillor Kyron James said the devastation left by Bret was the worst he had ever seen as 12 families had lost their roofs in his electoral district. One such family was that of 53-year- Sookram Sonny, a disabled man whose entire roof had been blown off by the storm.

“We were all home, my wife, my daughterin- law and her children when we hear a howling sound and then the whole roof went up,” he said. “It was real scary

Notice how unified we were as a nation? There was no race, religion or politics.

The various supporting utilities all performed admirably. The information presented on the media inspired confidence. We had minor hiccups but that is expected.

At the time of writing I have not seen any confirmed reports of loss life. That is what is most important. We can replace and repair infrastructure but not life.

What price can we attach to a human life? The last time I saw this unity was on November 19, 1989. It proves one thing: come hell or high water, together we will make it.

We did it, people. This was not a drill. Take a bow. Take a deep “Bret,” we did it together.

AV RAMPERSAD Princes Town

Such last-minute bulletins can cause the public to resort to rely on bulletins by non-authorised agencies, which could lead to conflicting reports and at times cause more harm than good.

What was unfortunate is that the previous administration left a gold mine to deal with natural and man-made disasters via the establishment of the National Operations Centre (NOC), which was a strong recommendation by the commission of inquiry into the attempted 1990 coup.

It stated that we need a centralised agency to ensure that all arms can coordinate in real time with each other and not work as independent bodies during natural or man-made disasters, as delay in passage of information, without a timely and appropriate response, can result in loss of property or life that could have been avoided.

Unfortunately, due to petty politics and lack of understanding, those in authority have now totally disregarded what was stated in this commission of inquiry, and watered down a critical element in national security into a sub unit of a spy agency.

One could recall the immediate State responses in Diego Martin when badly hit by floods a few years ago, because as soon as information was forwarded to the NOC it was relayed to the relevant arms in real time for a timely response.

However, due to ignorance in understanding how such a coordinating security Operations Command Centre works, it has now instead been shoved into a spying agency in the Strategic Services Agency, and we have returned to the backward system whereby one hand does not know what the other is doing.

The comical justification that the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) is in control shows how lost the administrators are, as the ODPM is not a coordinating agency and cannot coordinate or direct any other law enforcement or State agency.

The ODPM is supposed to be an arm of the NOC, whereby if there is a man-made or natural disaster, each arm of law enforcement, inclusive of army, police, coast guard, air guard, Fire Services, would have representatives.

Likewise, there would be a representative from ministries such as Local Government, Public Utilities, Works, Health, Transport, Communications, and representatives directly from the Radar Centre, Met Office, CCTV Command Centre, ODPM, TSTT , WASA, and TTE C.

They would be all under one roof, with their personal desks and accessibility to their heads and other representatives from their relevant agencies, all of which is provided for in the NOC, so there could be immediate sharing of information, collaboration, and receipt of any distress call and a timely joint response by different arms.

The ODPM cannot do this, which is why it was unable to absorb the number of calls being dispatched to it.

What made this worse is that the ODPM does not have the capacity to receive distress calls, and to give the public dozens of phone numbers was simply inappropriate.

All that was required was to inform the public that for any concern, just call 999, whereby the E999 was linked directly to the NOC, so depending on the nature of the call and the threat, it would be immediately relayed to the representatives in the NOC, be it a matter requiring immediate response, be it the Fire Services, Coast Guard, WASA, or local government.

But no. That was too straightforward, so instead what was done was to shut it all down and dismantle all of this, as well as other assets that were approved to assist in such incidents such as the UAVs, and hovercraft, solely because a previous administration established it.

Hopefully one day we would put national interest above politics.

GARY GRIFFITH via email

India will be looking to rebound after being crushed by perennial rivals Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy final last Sunday.

Law is expecting India to come out eager for victory to appease their cricket-mad fans still angry and disappointed in their Champions Trophy performance.

“They will be hurting, they went through the (Champions Trophy) tournament playing great cricket but they were undone by Pakistan on the day. The guy that leads them Virat Kohli, is a very passionate Indian and he loves to see his team having success. He will be driving them a lot harder during this series which we got to be ready for,” Law said.

West Indies lost to Pakistan 2-1 in a 50-over series earlier this year, and Law believes the regional side is close to competing with and beating the best teams in the world.

“Pakistan are now the Champions Trophy world champions.

We pushed them in a number of games, we beat them in a game; we are not too far from competing with those guys. It is just consistently (competing) on a day in, day out basis. India provides a great challenge not only for the West Indies, but any other team playing against them in this day and age. Looking forward to hosting them here,” he said.

West Indies have named the uncapped medium pacer Kesrick Williams in the squad, but the regional team will be without fast bowler Shannon Gabriel due to injury. Law said missing Gabriel will be a huge blow.

“It is a huge (loss), he has been an integral part of our success that we have had. He has been bowling beautifully as well, it is a shame the big man is not available.

We have very important tours coming up, this (series) is very important as well to us.

With England coming up, a Test tour over there, it will be nice to have him fully fit for the remainder of this series and also that Test series. A big loss but an opportunity for someone else.” Law said the batsmen must start producing because the bowlers have been holding their own.

Now this is not a new football approach, it is just a player using his awareness and skills to beat goalkeepers — outside the box. He did so against Mexico and Costa Rica in the recent World Cup qualifiers.

What made his goals outstanding is that both keepers were beaten from outside the box, which means Molino made the goalkeepers “eat grass” in football terms.

The underlying fact is that a player must hit the ball from outside the box when the opportunity arises. You never know, he may hit the jackpot.

There are many national players who, over the years, have built legendary reputations on making goalkeepers eat grass. I will name a few, past and present, who easily come to mind: Kerry Jamerson, Paul Elliot Alleyne, Dwight Yorke, Russell Latapy, Leroy Spann, Stern John, Everard “Gally” Cummings, Leroy De Leon, Vivian Manswell, Victor Gamaldo, Christian “Bugs” Mendez, Libert Duncan, Jan Steadman, Ron La Forest, Ray Raymond, Dennis Turton, Delbert Charleau, Bertrand Grell, David Mc Deigan, Kelvin Berassa, Tim Lambkin, Chalkie Hamelsmith, and Chris Knaggs.

Players need to stop pussyfooting and let it fly from outside the box.

In other words, they must think, and kick, outside the box.

KEITH ANDERSON via email

And so I decided I would not insult the little children of TT.

TYRONE EVANS Belmont

The men, Miguel Angel Matillo, 24, of the Dominican Republic; Alfredo Malchan, 24, of Venezuela and Moruga resident Dillon Lewis, 28, were gunned down near a basketball court.

Police believe the three were conducting an illegal transaction when they were killed. Police believe Lewis took the two foreign nationals into John John to collect money when they were killed.

Shortly after 6 pm on Monday, police were alerted to reports of gunshots being heard near an apartment complex. When police responded they found the bodies outside a house. Each man was shot in the head. The three were missing their shoes while one was missing a belt, which first led police to believe the three men were victims of a robbery.

An autopsy done yesterday at the Forensic Science Centre in St James, confirmed that all three men died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head. Relatives yesterday refused to comment when approached by reporters at the Forensic Science Centre in St James.

Food security can be described as having access to adequate food that is safe, nutritious, and available to all people helping to meet their daily nutritional requirements and food preferences, for an active healthy lifestyle; it should also be easily accessible (World Food Summit, 1996).

From another perspective, at local, regional and international levels, ending poverty, preventing hunger, and improving the nutritional status of people in communities are some of the primary goals for many countries, keeping in focus the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (2015) referred to as the Global Goals established following the success of the Millennium Development Goals.

Food insecurity But, amidst challenges sometimes encountered which may include natural disasters (famines, droughts, hurricanes, etc), political upheavals, wars, and increased in food prices can probably negatively impact health and nutrition status.

Food insecurity can contribute to hunger and associated consequences such as malnutrition, nutrient deficiencies, poor growth and development (affecting physical and mental health), as well as absenteeism and low productivity in schools and the workplace.

Likewise, the American Dietetic Association supports this view; they documented that eliminating food insecurity remain critical and that interventions are necessary; this of course include having sufficient funding for food and nutrition assistance programmes incorporating nutrition education.

These programmes should be innovative and meet the needs of the target population, and supporting individual and economic household self-sufficiency.

“For negative nutrition and non nutrition-related outcomes are associated with children, adolescents, and adults, such as substandard academic achievement, insufficient dietary intakes of main nutrients, poor health, increased potential risk for the development of chronic diseases and poor disease management, as well as poor psychological and cognitive functioning.”

Nutrition security Moreover, the opposite is also quite true, as all individuals have a basic human right to adequate food that is safe and nutritious to improve health and well-being.

Hence, food security contributes to nutrition security positively impacting nutrition status of children and their families, community residents and overall populations.

The pillars of food security include that of –food availability: production, processing, food supply and trade, quantity, quality, and diversity, sustainable productive farming systems; food accessibility –affordable, transport, equitable distribution, location, income, price; food utilisation –processing and storage, utilising nutritious local produce to prepare tasty dishes, food safety, sanitation; and stability which includes availability, access, utilisation.

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, “for nations to achieve nutrition security, all people must have access to a variety of nutritious foods and potable drinking water; knowledge, resources, and skills for healthy living; prevention, treatment, and care for diseases affecting nutrition status; and safety-net systems during crisis situations, such as natural disasters or deleterious social and political systems.

Adequate nutrient intake is a concern, independent of weight status. In order to achieve nutrition security, lifestyles, policies, and systems (for example food, water, health, energy, education/knowledge, and economic) contributing to sustainable resource use, environmental management, health promotion, economic stability, and positive social environments are required. Registered dietitians, nutritionists, public health educators and other professionals and community workers can get involved in promoting and implementing effective and sustainable policies, systems, programs, and practices that support individual, community, and national efforts.”

Practical approach Meal managers, parents, caregivers, caterers and cafeteria operators should aim to select more local produce from farmers markets and kitchen gardens to be added in the menu; meals prepared and served should be well-balanced. You should always ensure a variety of foods are offered, and that not only staples and foods from animals served, but include peas and beans, fruits, vegetables and grains. Some of these foods can also be use in the preparation of snacks, not only nutritious, but delicious as well.

People should be encouraged to utilise practical approaches in aid of doing his or her part. For example, the services of farmers can be engaged to assist with school and community gardens. Also, dietitians, dietetic technicians, and food demonstrators provide training to community volunteers teaching them how to prepare and preserve the local produce.

You should note that local foods are just as nutritious as foreign produce some persons might select or prefer. The nutrition message is to consume local produce, engage communities in planting short crops and incorporate these on the menu – farm to table approach, and store and preserve the surplus.

Claudette Mitchell, PhD, RD is an Assistant Professor, University of the Southern Caribbean, School of Science, Technology, and Allied Health

Speaking with Newsday at his constituency office in Gasparillo yesterday morning, Rambachan said although damage in his constituency was minimal, there were around ten families in Brasso Venado in central Trinidad whose roofs blew off on Monday night.

“We need to get the National Self Help Commission and the minister responsible to move expeditiously to provide some kind of grant to these families so they could put their lives back in order,” Rambachan said. “Right now a number of them have tarpaulins for roofs on their homes.

“What is even more disturbing about this is that these are not people who can get back on their feet. They are people who are parttime employed, some of them very unemployed, in one case a single-mother and a daughter. They are low-income families.” Rambachan also praised the Couva-Tabaquite- Talparo Regional Corporation for its preparedness and its response to the minor emergencies in his constituency.

The ambassador hosted a cocktail reception on June 8 for Arima All Stars club members and the visiting coaches from Sparta Rotterdam, the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands.

The youth coaches were here to hold several development clinics with the players and coaches from June 5-17.

All Stars’ president Charen Glasgow said the club’s philosophy is to promote the holistic development of young footballers.

The Sparta coaches’ visit was as a result of All Stars visiting Suriname and French Guyana for a football tournament in 2014.

They were so impressive that they were invited to the Netherlands in 2015 but could not make it.

The request came again in 2016 and the club made the trip.

Again, they impressed all around them and the coaching sessions were negotiated.

Simonis, who is also a physiotherapist said it is his first time in the West Indies and he liked what he saw in the youths from Arima.

He hopes the sessions will take them to a higher level and will like to see some of them at Sparta Rotterdam Football Club in the future.