TS Don dies with little damage done

Grenada was expected to be hit the hardest with the north-north eastern part of Trinidad bearing the brunt of the fringes of the storm.

Albert Alexander, Meteorologist II at the Meteorological Office at Piarco, said Grenada was spared the full fury of TS Don.

“Don has died...he dissipated in the Caribbean Sea,” Alexander said.

“It passed through Grenada, but there was not much rainfall.

It was just that Trinidad experienced some rain.” Alexander said there were no organised systems presently affecting the islands so it is mainly rainy season conditions which will prevail. However, there is another wave which should be passing within the next two or three days which could affect the northern-most islands and cause increased rainfall by tomorrow or Saturday.

He said there would be an increase in the intensity and frequency of showers as the islands are between systems right now.

While Tropical Storm Don did not wreak the havoc that was feared, given the recent flooding which left many reeling from hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses, it did leave behind some flood damage in some areas including central, northern and north central.

Head of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management Neville Wint said there have been reports of landslides and street and flash flooding in Maraval and Diego Martin and some structural collapse of retaining walls in San Juan.

Asked about flooding in certain areas, especially around the Queen’s Park Savannah, Wint said the country’s drainage system has not developed at the rate of our infrastructure development.

He said the Ministry of Works has been pursuing this issue for some time, saying there was an engineering problem.

Wint said there is also need for more public responsibility in the way garbage is disposed.