Sandy: Protective Services ready

Sandy said he had a discussion with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and they decided to give instructions for schools to be dismissed at 1 pm.

He said during the recent flooding in Port-of-Spain, school-children were among those who were stranded and the situation was chaotic.

“We decided that to avoid chaos from occurring again, it was better to send school children home early.”

He said it was normal for persons to panic after listening to radio reports and viewing information from the National Hurricane Centre in Miami, but the police were out in full force to ensure the free flow of traffic on the roads.

Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs yesterday said he and his divisional commanders were also monitoring the weather system, and he gave instructions to them to put all measures in place to deal with any emergencies.

Sandy said first responder agencies remained on alert while shelters were being prepared in case of emergencies. “I want to appeal to all citizens to take the necessary precautions and not treat this matter lightly, and put all measures in place to protect themselves and their families, and I also want to urge persons living on riverbanks or very close to river courses to evacuate and move to shelters if heavy and persistent rainfall occurs,” he said.