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TOBAGO FLOODS: Drivers took a chance by going through floodwaters in Whim Village, Tobago on Wednesday. PHOTO BY DAVID REID –

NEWSDAY REPORTERS

THE TROPICAL wave, known by meteorologists as Invest #91L, brought with it thunderstorms, strong winds and lightning, as it dumped rain over both islands between Tuesday night and all of yesterday.

The end result was major flooding throughout the country as well as landslides.

While the nation was put on alert by the Met Services since early Tuesday, by way of an adverse weather yellow-alert, few could have foreseen the swiftness in which major roads and highways, as well as large swathes of land became raging torrents of flood waters.

This road in Bad Hill, Tobago was partially blocked by debris following a landslide on Wednesday. PHOTO BY DAVID REID –

The Met Office said the latest weather alert began at 12 am on Wednesday and ends at 12 pm Friday.

Information poured into our newsroom all day Wednesday citing major flooding along the East/West Corridor; in Sangre Grande, especially in Coalmine; in parts of Chaguanas especially Edingburgh 500; in Tobago; in Tunapuna;Lopinot; in Five Rivers; in San Juan; in Trincity; in Manzanilla and in many other parts of the country.

At one point around midday, there were reports from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) of flood waters washing over the eastbound lane of the Churchill Roosevelt Highway near Orange Grove Road and Savannah Drive, rendering it impassable.

CLASSES END EARLY

Several schools including Trinity College East, St Augustine Secondary, Presentation College, Chaguanas, Northeastern College in Sangre Grande and others, were severely impacted by flooding.

The UWI St Augustine campus also ended classes early as parts of the university became inundated with water.

Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, interviewed by Newsday, said schools in affected areas have been making requests to dismiss early.

A Newsday report stated that when asked if the ministry will close schools owing to the flooding, she said, “Approval is being given upon request for schools in affected areas to close.

“Also, principals are allowing parents to collect their children from schools if required,” she added.

Nadir Khan surveys the rubbish left behind from flood waters at his home in Arima on Wednesday. PHOTO BY ANGELO MARCELLE – Angelo Marcelle

Several video images showing entire communities such as Paradise East in Tacarigua being turned into a sea of fast-moving brown water; the mangled remains of cars after they were washed away; and the Sangre Grande Hospital being flooded, were uploaded to social media and quickly went viral.

WOMAN WASHED AWAY

The flooding is also believed to have been directly responsible for the loss of at least one life, after a woman was washed away in flood waters in Lopinot, and is believed drowned.

Police said William Ramlogan and his 45-year-old sister Teresa Lynch of La Pastora Village, were on their way to tend to crops when Lynch was swept away as she tried to cross the Surrey river.

MILES OF TRAFFIC: Traffic stretches for as far as the eye can see on the eastbound lanes of the Churchill Roosevelt Highway as under rainy skies on Wednesday. PHOTO BY ROGER JACOB – ROGER JACOB

Her brother attempted a rescue but the currents quickly slammed him into rocks and he had to give up trying to reach his sister in order to save himself.

Up to 5.30 pm, villagers, police, firemen and divers were searching for Lynch, even as her brother had to be taken to hospital for treatment.

FLOOD ALERT

At 5 pm, the Met Services – in addition to the ongoing adverse weather yellow-alert – also placed Trinidad and Tobago on a riverine flood alert – yellow level warning. The riverine alert runs until Friday.

The Met Office said major watercourses in Trinidad including the North Oropouche, Caroni and South Oropouche; and in Tobago, including Crooks and Darrell springs rivers were continuing to rise. At the time of the press release, these watercourses were at 80 per cent capacity.

Search and rescue officers near the Surrey River in Lopinot as the search continued Wednesday afternoon for a woman who was swept away by raging waters. PHOTO BY SUREASH CHOLAI –

The Met Office said even as weather conditions appeared to be more settled as of late Wednesday afternoon, expected overnight showers and spring tides could conspire to bring capacity of the watercourse to maximum.

There is the potential for overspill and consequent flooding overnight and into Thursday.

The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) was also monitoring the weather and resultant flooding as it confirmed in a release that the weather had impacted its various housing developments.

The HDC said it had distributed sandbags in Oropune Gardens, Piarco where the level of the Arouca River was rising.

“We have placed and turned on pumps in strategic locations and these are being used to push excess water out,” the HDC said.

Its Disaster Management Team has been on the ground monitoring the corporation’s most high-risk communities. It added that in some areas, the volume of water had risen faster than predicted.

For those areas, the HDC will continue to monitor and provide assistance to residents as needed. HDC clean-up crews were also said to be on standby to be deployed when the need arises.

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door Terence Oosterwolde PARAMARIBO — Renzo Tjon-A-Joe heeft in Nederland het nationaal Surinaams record (NSR) op de 100 meter wisselslag

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Jamaica has been elected to the powerful 36-member International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council for the 2022-2025 triennium.

The election took place during the ICAO’s 41st Assembly being held at the Organisation’s headquarters in Montr?al, Canada from September 27 to October 7.

Minister of Transport and Mining, Audley Shaw, who heads Jamaica’s delegation to the assembly, has described the country’s election to the council as “a pivotal one for the nation and region”.

Shaw contended that this will ensure a platform for more uniform and inclusive participation in aviation deliberations and development across all regions.

“This will be achieved through greater and more strategic representation of our special needs and circumstances, as well as the infusion of unique, dynamic and novel perspectives that can regenerate, further stabilise, and assist the growth of the aviation sector,” he said.

The minister emphasised that Jamaica sees its role as being increasingly important as the country positions itself to support the much-needed acceleration of the aviation industry’s key development and sustainability priorities.

For his part, Director General of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA), Nari Williams-Singh, indicated that the election “demonstrated Jamaica’s significant and continued contribution to the field of civil aviation”.

Additionally, he said it is indicative of “our commitment to supporting the promotion of international standards that ensure uncompromised safety, efficiency, security and environmental sustainability within the region and beyond.

“Being elected to the ICAO Council gives us the opportunity to ensure that the needs of small island developing states (SIDS) like Jamaica are heard and considered in developing aviation policy,” the director general said.

“We can continue making our positive contribution in the field of aviation, especially at a time when our industry is coming out of a very difficult period,” he added.

Jamaica’s election to Part III of the council, comprising of states ensuring geographic representation, is expected to be of strategic importance for the island, the Caribbean, other SIDS, as well as Least Developed States (LDS), globally.

The election is important, given the council’s pre-eminent role in providing guidance for the work of the ICAO as the international aviation oversight body, while assuming responsibility for standards adoption and the organisation’s other governance engagements, when the 193-member assembly is not in session.

The council, a permanent body of ICAO, which gives continuing direction to the work of the organisation, is elected by the assembly every three years. Jamaica has been an ICAO member state since 1963, and represented the English-speaking Caribbean on the council from 1977 to 1986.

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PHILIPSBURG — In a press statement released on Wednesday evening, President of Parliament, MP Grisha Heyliger-Marten provided an overview of the main topics discussed during the IPKO held in the Hague from September 27th-30th, 2022.

In her closing statement at the IPKO, Heyliger-Marten said that the Sint Maarten appreciated the deliberations and looks forward to continuing the dialogue and coming to concrete actions on the topics discussed. “All delegations came up with suggestions or solutions to the topics discussed. Now is the time to come to put these into concrete actions”, she said.

With regards to the unsolicited advice of the Council of State regarding the application of treaties within the entire Kingdom, MP Sarah Wescot-Williams suggested to create a specific department for Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten. This is to ensure the involvement of these islands in the treaty process from the start, according to Heyliger-Marten. “The democratic deficit is clearly visible when it comes to treaties, and this needs to be addressed”, she said.

When it comes to the process of consensus laws, the discussions centered around the moment when consensus has to be established, as well as the role of the Parliaments in this process, Heyliger-Marten said. “This was a concern of all four countries, and we had honest and transparent discussions about this issue. We really need to find a way to give content to the true meaning of consensus. Perhaps we should consider regulating a clear process in which these Kingdom laws are handled”.

Heyliger-Marten also reflected on the presentation of the book “Ongemak” by prof. dr. G.J. Oostindie and dr. W.P. Veenendaal at the second day of the IPKO. “One of the things that stuck out to me was the fact that the authors, while acknowledging the democratic deficit and proposing ways to address it, also stated that amending the Kingdom Charter was difficult, and that changing it should not be a priority or disregarded altogether”, she said.

According to Heyliger-Marten, this statement seems to ignore the execution of the “De Graaf” and “Van Raak” motions, which will both lead to amendments to the Kingdom Charter. “The democratic deficit cannot be adequately addressed without changing the Kingdom Charter”, she stated. “The CCAD was established in 2020 for that reasons, and the Committee has already committed to making proposals to change the Kingdom Charter. The Dutch House of Representatives also sees the need for dialogue-based change, and has instructed its Government to organized a Kingdom Conference with the six Caribbean islands in 2023. So it is clear that change is inevitable, and it definitely will come sooner rather than later”, Heyliger-Marten stated.

With regards to the topic of colonialism and slavery history, Heyliger-Marten considers the deliberations during IPKO a good first step in the dialogue about an extremely divisive topic. “The Sint Maarten delegation expressed the need to continue this dialogue more in-depth during the next IPKO and come to concrete agreements on a way forward”, she stated.

Heyliger-Marten concluded by stating that the missions of the Sint Maarten delegation is and continues to be “making IPKO work for the people who we represent by coming up with more solutions and taking more action.”

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