MISERY

That was the prevailing emotion among villagers of the North Coast fishing villages of Toco, Grande Riviere and Matelot who are today isolated from the rest of the country as torrential rainfall overnight Tuesday and all day yesterday, triggered massive flooding, sea swells and landslides trapping thousands who live in the communities.

Up to 3,000 villagers in these vulnerable rural areas are in desperate need of food, water, mattresses and in some cases shelter as heavy winds blew the roofs of an undetermined number of houses. Up to late last night, many were without power, as electricity poles were pounded down by the wind and rain. Water lines were also broken, according to reports, and damage to the infrastructure has been described as extensive.

Fishing boats either sank or were pitched on shore by raging waves that battered the coastline. Government is expected to send up ministerial teams to assess the devastation and map out a plan for aid and reconstruction. “It is a terrible situation,” lamented Waziz Rambhajah who lives in Matelot. An estimated 2,000 villagers have been affected by the disaster, he said, declaring with regret, “that everytime the rain falls and there are landslides residents have to go through this.” When Rambhajah left his home at about noon, on his way to conduct business out of the village, the road was still passable although a steady stream of water flowed along it. He then got a call that the condition of the road had worsened and turned back. He was told that Shark River bridge was swept away by flood waters. In neighbouring Grande Riviere, Leslie Peters reported 15 houses were damaged and said there were as many landslides between there and Montevideo.

Up to 6.30 pm, the villagers were in darkness.

1,500 NEED AID “There is a total blackout, all the power lines are down,” Peters told Newsday. Flood waters eroded the roads, with some sections washing away, Peters said reporting that the St Helena/Matelot bridge had been destroyed. He estimated 1,500 villagers are in need of aid.

Continuous rainfall hampered the clearing of debris and landslides, as backhoes, bulldozers, excavators and trucks from the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation remained parked up as the roads to the villages were impassable.

Army trucks too could not pass and members of the Defence Force had to use chainsaws to cut their way through felled trees to get to the villages. Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission crews were also set back in repairing lines to restore power. The Strategic Services Agency’s Air Division carried out aerial sweeps from Maracas to Toco surveying the extent of the damage, which was concentrated in Matelot and Grand Riviere.

Grande Riviere villager Dennis Charles was troubled by the landslides, and as night fell worried about the lack of power. “It’s very troubling everything that’s going on at this time right now there are a few people without electricity and it’s getting dark. The soldiers and other persons are advising us to stay indoors.” Len Peters said in the 20 years he has lived in Grande Riviere this was the first time he witnessed weather of such intensity.

“This began at around 2 am Wednesday morning, the lightning would stop at two-second intervals and the rain fell without stopping.

Some persons houses were damaged beyond repair from the rainfall,” Peters said. He disclosed that MP for Toco/Sangre Grande Glenda Jennings-Smith made arrangements for residents whose homes were damaged to spend the night in hotels. “It was truly a bad day, but the councillors and the Member of Parliament for the area were here with us every step of the way so that gave us some encouragement,” he disclosed.

‘WORST EVER SEEN’ Matelot resident Anderson Zoe and his family spent all day, salvaging galvanise and materials to rebuild their roof as it was partially blown off with the heavy rains and winds. He described the heavy rainfall as something, “he has never experienced” before. Zoe told Newsday he and his family went to bed early Tuesday evening as they usually do. “Then about one in the morning, it started to rain and then current went. Then after that the rain started getting heavier and all you heard was the rumbling of the thunder and all you saw was the lightening flashing. Then after 2 am, the wind howled and the rain never stopped until three hours later,” he said.

Zoe, who is a fisherman and teacher in the Matelot area, said the wind appeared to be in a cylinder shape.

At about 2.30 am, Zoe said he heard a loud sound but did not know what it was. His daughter, soon after wanted to use the bathroom.

While walking her to the bathroom, he looked up and he felt rain drops in his eye.

“When I shined the light up I see my roof gone. So we hurriedly covered what we could but the water was already inside the house up to my ankle. We had to use some of our spare mattresses to block the water from entering our living room,” he said. Once the rains cleared, Zoe walked through his village and learnt that the roofs of 25 houses were blown off.

“This is the worst I have ever seen.

There is a bridge in Matelot that has been washed away completely, all of the power lines are down. The fishermen in the area were affected also, five boats are underwater in the harbour. There is no water in the pipes. This is the worst I have ever seen. Right now we are trying to survive, our Christmas is going to be a bleak one,” he said.

Outgoing chairman of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation, Terry Rondon in an interview with CNC3’s Morning Brew yesterday called on the country to assist the people in Matelot. The Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Office, in a bulletin issued at 5 am yesterday, said the inclement weather conditions was related to local dynamics in a moist and unstable atmosphere.

(See Pages 8 &9)