Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has issued a directive for the immediate deployment of additional equipment to clear watercourses in the flood-prone Penal/Debe region.
The move, according to Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Khadijah Ameen, comes as part of a broader national flood mitigation strategy now in full swing.
“The flood mitigation exercise within the Ministry of Local Government continues with our 14 Regional Corporations. In fact, additional equipment is going out to some of the regions. Today, this morning, we will have meetings at the Penal/Debe Corporation to deal with some critical areas. The Prime Minister has issued additional equipment in that area to clear some watercourses that have not been cleared in many, many years.”
Minister Ameen confirmed the action via a media release on Tuesday, noting that while the Yellow Level Adverse Weather Alert has been lifted, the government remains on high alert, especially given that the rainy season has been declared by the T&T Met Service.
“I’m grateful that during the period of the Yellow Level Alert, we were able to identify several critical areas that require our intervention. We also have identified areas where failing infrastructure needs to be addressed. So we will be meeting and planning how we will go forward with that.”
With consistent rainfall and the swelling of watercourses over the weekend, Ms. Ameen said that while some areas experienced street flooding and property damage, early mobilisation helped prevent more severe outcomes.
“We have a summary of all the reports, including a roof that was completely blown off in the Moruga area. The Regional Corporation would have gone there to render assistance. We had several fallen trees. We had instances of street flooding and some instances of water entering people’s homes and people’s property. Thankfully, it was not as bad because we were already mobilised and on the ground clearing waterways to reduce the flooding.”
Minister Ameen has also identified areas where failing infrastructure continues to contribute to flood vulnerability, noting that meetings will be convened in the coming days to plan targeted interventions in these communities.