By ALEXANDER BRUZUAL Saturday, October 10 2009

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FLOODED: The yard of this house in Plum Mitan, Biche was submerged for several hours following heavy rainfall yesterday....

HEAVY SHOWERS early yesterday morning resulted in flash flooding along various parts along the Plum Mitan Main Road, Biche in East Trinidad. Residents said at the height of the flooding, several areas were impassable.

Residents reported flood waters had risen over three feet. This resulted in a traffic build up along the road as motorists waited for the waters to recede. However, as quickly as the waters rose, they subsided.

Interestingly though, some residents described the flooding as “trivial” and “nothing too spectacular”, saying flooding had become a norm along the road following any heavy rainfall.

Marcus Balkaran, a resident, said the lower areas along the road were continuously subjected to flooding, so much so it was just a part of the way of life for residents.

“Some areas are very low. It have the areas along the road closer to Manzanilla like by the eight mile mark, and by the rice fields which get really bad. Along the road closer to Biche side also floods out too when it rains. But the thing is those areas are all swamp lands, all low lying lands, so no matter what anybody does, it will always have some sort of flooding in the area,” Balkaran explained.

Some residents suggested the flooding in the area could be alleviated by the dredging of rivers in the area, and the construction of better equipped drainage systems.

“When it comes down to it, we have the same problem as everybody else it seems. It’s all about drainage. We have no drains in some of these areas as it is, so the water has no choice but to fall out on the road when it rains. We are not saying it will stop the flooding, but it will lessen its effects greatly,” said another resident who only gave his name as “ Mr Nanlal”.

Residents pointed out work had begun by the Ministry of Works and Transport on repairing the road, and dredging the drain early this year. However they said work seemed to have come to a virtual standstill, and they were not sure if it would resume in the future.

It was also explained mostly farmers had settled in the area, and the flooding caused serious damage to crops every year. It was estimated at the very least yearly damage would cost some farmers tens of thousands of dollars.