Residents in several parts of north-west Trinidad are putting their Christmas preparations on hold this weekend, as they seek to recover from floods and landslides caused by heavy rains that besieged their communities for the second time in two months yesterday.

Water supply has also been disrupted in several areas in North Trinidad due to the torrential rains which began on Thursday and continued yesterday in Diego Martin, Las Cuevas, Petit Valley, Maraval, Maracas, Santa Cruz and St Joseph.

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) yesterday warned of more rainfall as it mobilised its first-response network that includes the Ministry of Local Government, regional corporations, Ministry of Works and Transport and the Defence Force First Engineer Battalion.

’Teams from these agencies have been deployed to assist in clean-up operations,’ the ODPM stated.

The Express understands that crews from the Community Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) were also on standby awaiting instructions to assist in any clean-up operations in the Diego Martin area.

The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) stated yesterday that in ’the most severe case’, operations at its Maraval Waterworks were curtailed due to damage sustained at the plant following yesterday’s rains.

WASA crews were conducting ’emergency repair works’ at the Maraval facility yesterday and the authority anticipated that ’operations at the facility will be partially restored by 6 p.m.’ today.

The ODPM stated in a release at 6.30 p.m. that WASA’s Santa Cruz booster station had been ’flooded out causing water damage to its pump and electrical system’.

WASA also indicated that truck-borne water supply was being transported to many affected areas and anticipated the problem would be rectified between today and tomorrow.

The ODPM said it received reports of landslides along the North Coast Road, Saddle Road in Santa Cruz, Lady Young Road and Diego Martin.

Parts of several of the main roadways that serve as the main entry or only exit out of those areas were under water as of yesterday afternoon. The flooding of those roadways caused severe traffic in those communities during the evening rush-hour on Thursday and also caused some delays for commuters going to work yesterday.

Commuters who were on their way home from work on Thursday night to Diego Martin and Petit Valley had to endure bumper-to-bumper traffic well after 9 p.m. due to flooding near Powder Magazine along the Diego Martin Highway, close to the site of a Government housing project under construction.

The ODPM also stated yesterday that the Highways Division was ’strongly advising motorists not to use the North Coast Road unless absolutely necessary, as they are working to clear landslides along the roadway’.

WASA has asked anyone seeking further information to contact its Customer Service Bureau at 662-9272 (662-WASA).

The ODPM stated it received reports of flooding from the following areas yesterday:

Gasparillo

La Pastora Village, Santa Cruz; La Seiva, Maraval;

Las Cuevas; Santa Cruz; Anderlica, Maraval;

Perseverance Road, Maraval; Paramin Village;

Diamond Vale, Diego Martin; Temple Street, Diego Martin;

Tomato Trace Extension, Diego Martin; Valsayn Trace,

St Joseph; Tunapuna

Tucker Valley Road. Chaguaramas.