More rains brought more worries for the residents of Richplain, Diego Martin, yesterday. Just after 3 p.m yesterday another round of heavy rains fell on the already saturated mountains over Diego Martin and resulted in further flooding in the lower lying residential areas along the Diego Martin Main Road.

One resident, Everard Cabral, 59, waded through flood waters as he exited the gated Courtyard Inn property. Cabral, who has lived in the area for the past nine years said his home was flooded out three times during the course of the day.

"Everytime any rain falls, the drains are already so full of silt and debris that it just running off and coming into the house," he said. Cabral and other residents nearby stood helplessly yesterday, unable to stem the inundation of more flood waters into their already damaged homes.

"This is the third time for the day we get this," Cabral said.

"All the drains coming out of La Puerta full up, the drains full almost right up with sand," another neighbour added.

The dark clouds hanging over the mountains yesterday afternoon created more panic for the residents.

"If you see that buss again, we in for it," one man said, motioning to the sky.

"We cannot do anything, we cannot even come out there," one woman shouted from her balcony. The muddy water ran down the hilly areas on the opposite side of the street and straight into their properties. They said it made no sense cleaning up as the rains continued, more slush kept running into their living space.

"The drain at the corner clogged up. We saw when they were cutting the hill and Saturday morning it come down and clog up the drain and everytime rain falls, that's it," one man said.

Just as residents were bracing for more of the same and some were marooned in their homes, several vehicles of good samaritans arrived bearing hampers of food. The men, attached to the El Socorro Mosque said they heard what was happening and through mosque-to-mosque donations they were able to put together clothes and foodstuff for the people in the area.

Further up the street, toward the Richplain River, residents had the same complaint. The residents kept adding damaged and destroyed furniture and appliances to a growing pile just outside their home. They blasted the absentee Government representatives, saying the Prime Minister promised to keep visiting but they had not gotten any emergency relief.

"Newspapers coming here and taking pictures and selling to make money, how that helping we? You ain't even bring a bottle of water for the people here," one lady said.

"I don't blame the Government though, I vex with people who trying to make money on my head," she said.

Residents along the Richplain River though were grateful that members of the Arima Borough Corporation were on hand to assist with water trucks and man- power.

Ann Portillo, 59, said she was at home when the river came down on Saturday morning. She recalled hearing the river getting louder and louder and said by the time she woke her family up, the water was already up to her thighs.

"It was like a sea, by the time I try to wake up the neighbours, I couldn't even pass. The water send the car right out in the road and it stuck right there," she said.

Even as the work continued around the clock by several regional corporations, Diego Martin and environs still showed scars of the devastation over the weekend. Garbage trucks have not made it to the area, residents say, and the pile of foul smelling furniture is adding to the uncomfortable conditions they are forced to live in.

"It just seems like it will never be clean again, you know," she said.