Marooned: Major floods leave families trapped in houses

Nalinee Seelal

Marooned: Major floods leave families trapped in houses

WATERWAY: Flooding along the south-bound lane of the Solomon Hochoy Highway at the Chase Village Flyover on Wednesday night.

Residents of Bagna Trace in Chase Village were among thousands marooned by rising flood waters on Wednesday night and yesterday resulting in the loss of household items and damage to many homes.

Affected residents were yesterday involved in mopping up operations with the assistance of CEPEP workers, however the loss of household appliances left many in t ears wondering where they will find the money to replace the lost items.

One of the affected residents Shehenaz Mohammed told Newsday that on Wednesday she left her Bagna Trace home in pouring rain to assist a relative who live close to a nearby river in the area and while in the process of removing electronic items to safe ground she was informed that the flood water were creeping up close to her home.

She told Newsday “within minutes the flood waters rose rapidly about four to five feet, and her vehicle was covered in the swirling flood waters leaving her in disbelief and helpless”. She said that the last time that flooding of such proportion occurred was in 2010 but on Wednesday the waters rose so rapidly that she and others were unable to salvage any of their possessions.

She said that all her freezers, fridge, curtains, sofas and grocery items, kitchen appliances were all lost in the murky flood water. Mohammed said that she and others were forced to seek refuge at a relative’s home and they slept on tables for most of Wednesday night. The flood waters began slowly receding around 4 am yesterday, and by 8 am residents were able to return to their homes to begin the removal of slush and rubbish deposited into their homes during the flooding.

On Wednesday night several parts of Chase Village including areas close to the Chase village flyover were covered with flood water including parts of the highway.