Gusty winds and showers cause some damage in north

The Met Office at Piarco yesterday stated that a tropical wave moving across the Eastern Caribbean was responsible for damage to some houses in the Bamboo area following heavy showers and thunder showers around midday. Speaking to Newsday, Chief Meteorologist, Emmanuel Moolchan, explained that favourable upper level winds contributed to conditions associated with the tropical wave. He stated that certain winds  caused clouds to build to significant vertical depths resulting in thunder clouds being formed. A down draft consists of a strong wind blowing straight down and upon reaching the surface, it spreads out thus creating gusty winds. This, Moolchan claimed, was responsible for the damage to some houses in the area as several persons had their roofs blown off while a tree fell on the house of Bamboo resident, Gloria Bhulawan. He added that once there are electrical discharges in the atmosphere, there is always the chance or possibility of strong gusty winds caused by down drafts.

Admitting that the MET office had spoken with the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) with regards to calls from persons in the Bamboo area, Moolchan predicted that the weather would have improved by nightfall. Checks with NEMA’s Director, Colonel Dave Williams, revealed that they were notified of  the damage to the houses in Bamboo, and that Level One Emergency measures had been implemented. A Level One Emergency measure consists of a response from fire officials, as they are the first response agency who checks with the MET Office, Williams stated. In a damage report release from NEMA late yesterday afternoon, Williams confirmed that two homes of Temple Street, Bamboo Settlement No 2 had their roofs blown off, and that the electricity loss in the immediate area was associated with damage to power lines caused by flying debris. He also revealed that one home in Morvant was affected as its roof was also blown off due to the gusty winds.

Williams stated that the  Fire Service, TTEC and the respective Regional Corporations had been contacted to provide assistance to the affected parties, whilst the MET Office advised that an improvement in the weather was expected towards evening. A call to the San Juan Fire Station revealed that one fire tender responded to calls from residents in both Bamboo Settlement’s 1 and 2, where a  total of seven homes were affected. A fire official at San Juan told Newsday that luckily, no one was injured, and that up to 5 pm yesterday, TTEC and TSTT were both working on restoring power to the area. He added that most persons of the affected homes were already working on patching up their roofs, and that fire officials had assisted in lending tarpaulin and salvage sheets to some persons. A tree also fell across the Uriah Butler Highway in the vicinity of Bamboo, around the same time creating a slight traffic pileup, said the officer.