Most of the water that inundated parts of Trinidad and Tobago have started receding.
Minister of National Security and Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young said by 5:30 p.m. yesterday, September 22, 2019 most of the water had begun subsided.
He said he toured Tobago earlier today and clean-up exercises are underway in lower Scarborough.
Young said the latest update he got from the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service advised that the adverse weather alert has been downgraded to yellow but that Trinidad and Tobago is still on a red alert for riverine flooding. He said this means the country can expect rainfall later today which can lead to more flash flooding.
He said so far there has been no information about injuries sustained during the flood.
Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Clarence Rambharat told the media conference which was held earlier today, Monday, 23 September 23, 2019 that key farming areas in the country have not been affected but some fields in Aranguez were submerged.
He urged consumers to be vigilant when purchasing produce.
The Minister complained that there has been interference with the river banks in Aranguez after work was done by the Ministry of Works and Transport. He said soil was removed by citizens. He also asked the country to be on the lookout for Giant African snails that may have migrated to other areas during the floods.
The Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan said all major roadways and highways are now passable and for the first time in many years the Caroni River has not burst its banks. He said major desilting works helped significantly.
The Ministry, he said, has learnt a lot from last year's floods and estimated that some normalcy will be restored within one day, whereas it took over a month to recover from last year’s floods.
Sinanan said reports so far have indicated that there is no damage to infrastructures including bridges.
Giving his update, the Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Kazim Hosein reported that one out of the 14 Regional Corporations has been severely affected, particularly Bamboo #3 which falls within the Tunapuna/ Piarco Regional Corporation.
But he assured that CEPEP has started clean-up exercises across the country from as early as 5:00 a.m. today. He urged resident seeking help to contact their local government councillors and their respective disaster management units (DMUs).
Minister Hosein warned that anyone found dumping garbage illegally will be taken to court and charged while the Minister of Public Utilities Robert Le Hunte said T&TEC restored electricity to most of the communities that suffered power outages within 24 hours and there was no major damage to the T&TEC vehicles in Tobago where flooding occurred yesterday.
Communications issues in Tobago will be resolved by TSTT within the next two hours, Le Hunte said.
For the full media conference: https://www.facebook.com/220367384713914/posts/2455561091194521/?sfnsn=mo&d=n&vh=e