When the rain fell on Wednesday
By Sue-Ann Wayow
THE village of Matelot is marooned.
On Wednesday, heavy and consistent rainfall affected the north and northeast areas of Trinidad with several parts of the North Coast Road and the Toco and Paria Main Road being impassable to traffic.
The Ministry of Works and Transport is currently working to clear the Toco and Paria Main Road and workers from the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation are expected to arrive soon at Matelot.
Anderson Zoe, president of the Matelot Kingfishers Association, told AZP News on Thursday that the rains began at 12 noon on Wednesday and there was a “consistent downpour” until almost 8 pm.
All the rivers from Grand Riviere to Matelot burst their banks flooding out the roadways, he said.
Zoe said, “I wanted to go out this morning and could not. One of my friends who had to go Sangre Grande for a dialysis treatment went out the road and had to come back home.”
He said workers from the Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) were assisting with minor cleaning.
There was also no electricity or water supply in Matelot, Zoe added.
He said every year, the fishermen celebrate St Peter’s Day in Matelot which was celebrated on Wednesday.
Municipal police who attended the event were stranded Zoe also said.
‘Stuck between a rock and a hard place’
Chairman of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation Anil Juteram told AZP News at 10. 15 am workers were clearing debris and washing down the roads and still had two landslides to clear before reaching the village of Matelot which has about 250 villagers.
He said it would probably take about two hours before persons can begin to move in and out of the village.
“We are stuck between a rock and a hard place,” Juteram said.
He said truck-borne water will be supplied in the interim once the trucks reach on site.
Juteram added that there was another landslide at a side street that also pulled electricity poles but the main focus was having a thoroughfare along the Paria Main Road.
