Flooding in Diego Martin, Santa Cruz and Maraval

When Sunday Newsday contacted Deputy CEO of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management, Neville Wint, he said he had only received preliminary reports at the time but teams from the various regional corporations were in the field assessing the situation.

“We know rivers would have crested in some areas and in some places it would have burst. There are sporadic reports of landslides and flooded homes in those areas.

We are trying to assess the impact.” One driver on his way into Santa Cruz yesterday afternoon said the traffic was at a standstill outside La Canoa Village as drivers were unable to pass.

“As far as the eye could see the whole road was water,” he said.

Realising there was nowhere to go, the driver said many drivers simply turned off their engines to wait for the water to recede.

Some exited their cars with umbrellas and either walked to the flood area to see the reason for the stalled traffic, or to wait in nearby shops and generally find shelter. Still others walked to the bridge at Hololo Mountain Road to watch the water in the river rush by.

However, a few drivers of pick-up trucks slowly made their way through the floods while others who tried the same experienced mechanical problems and stalled.