Unify resources, political will on floods

The horror stories of last year’s rainy season, which brought destructive floods through Diego Martin, Bournes Road in Upper St James and Maraval should have triggered a unilateral response among state agencies, between political parties and local and central government to ensure that there was appropriate planning, execution and delivery of strategies and initiatives to reduce the effect of heavy rains.

On Wednesday, Minister of Works Jack Warner called for more communication between local and central governments to get the nation ready for the rainy season. Warner, speaking in Le Platte Village, Maraval, called for more collaboration in cleaning drains, retaking rivers and clearing garbage before the rains begin. As he spoke, rain drizzled on the ceremonially opened stretch of repaired roadway.

That same day, Udecott officials had to send in maintenance crews to deal with flooding at Tower D at the International Waterfront Centre, after a drainpipe meant to carry water off the roof of the building, currently designated as the home of the nation’s Parliament, broke and dumped water into the lobby.

The flooding at Tower D was some steps removed from the problems of the people of Maraval and Diego Martin, but it should have served as a sharp reminder to those charged with managing the nation’s business that flooding remains an issue that requires continuous attention and maintenance all year long.

The specific issues associated with the drainage systems at Tower D should be of less concern than the larger issues of mapping rainfall patterns and intensity, and planning strategies to manage the patterns of flooding that have become a consistent and destructive element of our rainy season.

By inference, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar put the flooding problem of Trinidad and Tobago in front by choosing to leave her swearing-in ceremony to view flooded areas in T&T. That deft swap of footwear, from high heels to tall rubber boots, seemed to set a new tone of urgency in managing the persistent instances of flooding that have plagued the nation over the last decade.

But new prime ministerial boots in the mud have not led to concomitant real-world action to stem the problem. There have been long conversations and earnest announcements about retention ponds, along with commitments to keep waterways clear on an ongoing basis.

A $30 million fund was touted by the Government as an allocation to deal with the sources of flooding in the country as early as August 2010. Danish and Chinese flood experts were said to be in consultations about the problems but to date, save for a road repair here and a box drain there, there has been no significant effort to deal with the issue on the scale that matches the destruction and anguish that floodwaters cause every year.

Has the Ministry of Works been talking to people in flood-prone areas with a view to gathering local intelligence about the causes of flooding and the vulnerabilities of these areas? Are watercourses cleared and ready for the water that’s sure to begin flowing through them or are they so covered in silt and debris that six-foot high grasses are growing in them?

Have river mouths been cleared of silt to ensure a clear path for floodwaters out to sea? The planning for natural disaster remains so behind  that there is no established and commonly agreed-on evacuation plan for Port-of-Spain and it’s unclear whether such plans exist for other flood-prone areas in the country.

The horror stories of last year’s rainy season, which brought destructive floods through Diego Martin, Bournes Road in Upper St James and Maraval should have triggered a unilateral response among state agencies, between political parties and local and central government to ensure that there was appropriate planning, execution and delivery of strategies and initiatives to reduce the effect of heavy rains.

If there was ever a project that demanded a unified response from all the bodies charged with public safety and national governance and every politician, regardless of party allegiance, managing floodwaters effectively should be that issue.