Black Immigrant Daily News

Les émissions de CO2 produites par la consommation d’énergies fossiles – pétrole, gaz ou charbon – vont dépasser en 2022 leur niveau record, après le trou d’air dû au Covid…

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Drivers take a chance through the flood at Whim Village, Tobago. File photo/David Reid

POUNDING rain triggered flash flooding and landslides in several parts of Tobago on Thursday.

It came a day after the Meteorological Office issued an advisory saying it had raised its riverine alert to orange and adverse weather alert to yellow. The advisory was subsequently downgraded to yellow and green level respectively.

The Met Office said periods of heavy rainfall are expected over the next few days.

In light of the advisory, the THA Division of Education, Research and Technology dismissed schools on the island at 1 pm.

It advised parents to make arrangements to have their children collected. The division said students who use maxi taxi services were to be picked up at their respective schools.

Unless otherwise advised, the division said classes are expected to resume on Friday.

It urged families affected by the bad weather to contact the 211 call centre or the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) at 660-7489.

As of 5 pm on Thursday, TEMA director Allan Stewart told Newsday the agency received 21 reports – the majority of which were flooding and landslides.

Stewart said there was some “critical flooding” in the south-western part of the island including Canoe Bay, Crown Point, Canaan, Bon Accord and at Turtle Beach, Black Rock, near the Starfish Hotel. There were also some reports in some villages in east Tobago.

He said landslides were reported in Bloody Bay and Bad Rock, Belle Garden.

A video posted on Facebook highlighted a major landslide along the Bloody Bay Road.

A man could be heard saying a large tree fell onto the road and blocked it. He said the area surrounding the landslide also appeared to be waterlogged.

“A piece of Tobago cut off,” the man said.

He wondered how residents would get to Roxborough Hospital in an emergency.

“They will have to hope that God keep them safe to meet town (Scarborough).”

Stewart said TEMA was bracing for more landslides.

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Significant progress has been made to end the status of HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) as a national prevailing health threat, says Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn.

Cuthbert-Flynn, who was speaking at the opening of the 31st Annual HIV Review and Planning Meeting at Jewel Grande Resort in Rose Hall, St James on November 9, said the tailwinds have been such where it is now possible to reimagine the end of AIDS as a public menace in the foreseeable future.

“In the more than 35 years since HIV/AIDS burst onto the global scene, much progress has been made to end the status of this viral disease as a prevailing public health threat,” the state minister said.

“Here in Jamaica, those efforts have included delivery of care, which includes medical, social, psychological and peer support, to enable the people living with HIV to live their best lives; updating guiding documents and facilitation of programmatic reviews; and reducing the barrier to accessing care for our key and vulnerable populations,” she added.

The state minister said the country’s public health system is moving increasingly towards higher service delivery, hence the reason for the level of renewed optimism that the once dreaded disease is well within the crosshairs of healthcare providers.

Cuthbert-Flynn emphasised, however, that there is zero room for complacency in the battle against HIV.

“Prioritising HIV prevention, care and treatment, as well as efforts to provide universal access to treatment and care for persons living with HIV, remain a priority of the Ministry of Health and Wellness,” she said.

She pointed to data from Jamaica’s national HIV programme indicating that patients are accessing and are being retained in care, and that since 2017, loss to follow-up numbers have lowered considerably.

She also noted that the island has succeeded in improving viral suppression from the low 50s in 2018, to 75 per cent in 2022, and that the prevention of mother-to-child transmission has declined significantly from 5.4 per cent in 2017, to less than one per cent to date.

“Further, the use of data continues to drive interventions at the parish, regional and national levels. Data quality has seen noteworthy upgrading at all treatment sites, and the result is an overall progression on the cascade. Of note, too, is the increase in avenues to access care within the public and private arenas,” the state minister said.

“Our international partners… remain instrumental in accelerating progress toward HIV epidemic control. Through reinforcement of this solid support, we anticipate further improvements of access to quality services for people living with HIV, as we continue working to achieve viral suppression. I commend the UNAIDS Office in Jamaica for its significant work in our national HIV response,” she added.

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Tyrone Reece shows the household items he assisted his neighbour in placing on higher ground as her house Toco Main Road, Sangre Grande, remained flooded on Thursday. – Ayanna Kinsale

AFTER a forecast of rainfall on Wednesday into Thursday, which would have worsened flooding, the Met Office on Thursday afternoon reduced both its riverine and adverse-weather alerts.

The reduction from an orange-level riverine alert to yellow came as an ease to many, especially those in Sangre Grande who were bracing for increased flooding with the expectation that the Tamana River would have overflowed.

The yellow adverse-weather alert was downgraded to green.

In its 3 pm update, the Met Office said the levels at major rivers were on a downward trend although the El Carmen River, which feeds the Caroni River, was still at 94 per cent capacity. All smaller rivers were reduced to below 50 per cent and were receding.

Additional rainfall was expected overnight into Friday.

“This, in addition to high tides, can cause further run-off to be slow. As a result, there remains a moderate risk to public safety, livelihood and property.”

It said high tides are expected at 5.56 am and 5.18 pm on Friday. International meteorologist Brian Shields forecast that Trinidad and Tobago and parts of the eastern Caribbean will experience rainfall of up to 100 millimetres (mm) on Friday from a tropical wave sweeping through the Caribbean.

Local meteorologist Gary Benjamin said the forecasters had a lesser prediction for rainfall Thursday night into Friday.

He said that the forecast is that rainfall will be in excess of 25 mm but not reaching the levels of 100 mm.

From 2 pm on Wednesday to 2 pm on Thursday the Met Office calculated 20.7 mm of rainfall at Piarco and 42.6 mm at Crown Point, Benjamin said. He added that for the previous two days a tropical wave passed over the country with the trailing effects hitting between Wednesday night into Thursday.

“While we had an intense amount of rainfall overnight, we are seeing a bit of a lull now and we continue with light rain in most areas. We are seeing a lull this afternoon and into this evening, albeit we might have one or two lingering showers overnight. Sometime around midnight or after, we are expected to have an increase in the showery activity.”

While parts of Sangre Grande had water levels as high as six feet, by some estimations, on Wednesday, the water subsided as early as 3 pm, MP for Toco/Sangre Grande Roger Monroe told Newsday.

He said residents spent the day cleaning with a limited supply of water, which was turned off because of turbidity. There were requests for truck-borne water.

When Newsday visited Sangre Grande on Wednesday residents and chairman of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation Anil Juteram identified unplanned and improperly planned development as major contributors to the flooding. The flood water was also unusually orange, compared to the accustomed brownish-coloured water.

Monroe was asked if the discolouration was as a result of increased illegal quarrying in the constituency.

“I can’t say if it is because of illegal quarrying or because of development work, I can’t say at this time,” he said.

In preparing for more rains Thursday into Friday, Monroe said he appealed to the regional corporation to make advance preparations to avoid “scampering” as had happened on Wednesday. He added there were over 100 families who were affected and needed assistance on Wednesday.

His office, up to the time of the call with Newsday, was still gathering information on those affected and in need of assistance. Some areas, he said, were inaccessible on Thursday and contact will be made by Friday.

Although some people said they lost everything in the flood and had nowhere to sleep on Wednesday, Monroe said no-one sought assistance in terms of shelter overnight.

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