Flood leaves Rio families marooned

Several families were virtually marooned in their homes while thousands of dollars worth of livestock and agricultural produce were lost as flood waters, measuring some ten feet in areas, submerged villages in the Rio Claro and Mayaro districts yesterday. The rain, which began on Thursday night, was described by Local Government officials as the “worst flooding in living memory” and affected the Poole River Valley Road, Old Guayaguare Road, Lazzarie Road, Fonrose Village and Riverside Road. 

Especially hard hit was Mafeking Village, May-aro, as the main access road, the Naparima Mayaro Road, was completely flooded out leaving residents stranded in their homes while beachgoers were forced to cancel trips to the Mayaro beach. Maxi-taxis and taxis also stopped plying the Mayaro/Rio Claro route leaving scores of commuters stranded. Rio Claro South Local Government councillor, Steve Gangaram, said the Regional Corporation had evacuated four families from severely affected areas while other families preferred to wait until the flood waters receded.

“People don’t believe that this sort of thing could happen to them and they are preferring to stay in their homes,” he said. He added that the Rio Claro Vedic School was being used as a temporary shelter for flood victims. Gangaram said members of the Fire Services and the Regional Cor-poration were out early yesterday morning assisting affected residents with foodstuff and other supplies. Meanwhile, two Army helicopters were reportedly sent out to conduct surveys of the affected areas.