Heavy showers, thunder, lightning hit Trinidad

AS many as 12 areas in North Trinidad were without electricity for most of yesterday. The areas, including Petit Valley, Santa Cruz and Maraval, were affected by heavy showers accompanied by fierce thunder and lightning in the wee hours of yesterday morning. Corporate communications manager at TTEC, Dennis Mc Comie, assured that electricity would have been returned to most of the affected areas by late yesterday afternoon. He said a service team was sent out as soon as the outage was reported. Up to news time yesterday, electricity was returned to a few of the affected areas.

According to a release from the company, residents of the affected areas who wanted to make queries could not do so because of a broken down switchboard. TTEC has apologised for the inconvenience. The inclement weather created a stir among many yesterday, as they believed the island was being hit by a thunderstorm. The “thunderstorm,” according to the Meteorological Office, was caused by a tropical wave. In an information bulletin, the Met office revealed the wave had developed into Tropical Depression Number 3 around 1.45 pm yesterday. The depression was formed over the southern Windward Islands and was located approximately 50 kilometres south east of Grenada, the statement said. It added that the depression was moving toward the west by north about 35 km/hr with maximum sustained winds of 56 km/hr. “Although computer modules indicate further intensification is forecast, the core of the depression is already beyond TT, but cloudiness with showers and isolated thundershowers will continue to affect both islands for the next three to six hours,” the Met office stated.