Twenty-nine people from nine families have vacated their homes and are seeking shelter elsewhere after a tropical wave caused widespread floods and landslides across St. Vincent and the Grenadines Monday night.
The National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) said in a situation report on Tuesday that 17 of the displaced people were in pubic shelters and 12 in private homes.
Five people from three families were in the Buccament Bay Secondary School Shelter, while another 12 from three families were housed at the Golden Years Centre, also in Buccament Bay.
As regards displaced households in the care of relatives, NEMO said multiple families were displaced by total structural destruction (including six family members in Rillan Hill) or severe landslide threats, such as in Clare Valley and Chauncey, where three family members in each community were taking temporary refuge with neighbours and relatives.
Health services
NEMO said that floodwaters were contained at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH), the country’s main health care facility, and public health assessments were ongoing to ensure facility hygiene and loss evaluation.
Separately, on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health announced on social media that outpatient clinics at MCMH and Levi Latham Health Centre (LLHC) will remain suspended on Wednesday, for the second consecutive day.
Normal visiting at MCMH will resume tomorrow at 11 a.m., Wednesday, the ministry said.
“We thank the public for your patience, understanding and cooperation as we continue to assess and restore services following the recent heavy rainfall and flooding,” the post further stated.
In its situation report, NEMO said there were flooding and leaks at the Vermont Police Station.
General overview
NEMO said a team dispatched to assess the situation across the country had logged 44 cases, namely 15 cases of flooding, 13 cases of landslides, 5 cases of blocked roads and debris, and three cases of fallen trees.
“Preliminary reports indicate that a number of commercial/business entities along Upper & Lower Bay Street in Kingstown were impacted,” the report said.
The disaster management agency said that Prime Minister Godwin Friday
visited affected homes in the Clare Valley and Buccament, businesses in Kingstown, and the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.
The police force rescued people in Buccament, evacuating several families who were trapped by floodwaters near the playing field.
NEMO said that BRAGSA deployed heavy equipment crews to clear roadways, beginning with the Belmont Main Road and central Kingstown
Meanwhile, the municipal water supply has been affected by disruptions to the Majorca, Montreal, Mamoon and Perseverance water supply system.
The Central Water and Sewerage Authority has reported that the dam at the Majorca Water Supply System has been “completely inundated with silt, preventing the abstraction of water.
“The silt must be manually cleared before water abstraction can resume. This task is expected to take approximately two days to complete,” the company said.
In its latest update at 3:30 p.m., VINLEC announced that it has restored electricity supply to all remaining affected areas in Bequia.
In St. Vincent, electricity had been restored to Campden Park (including Roucher Bay), Top Belair, Richland Park, Top Hopewell, Greiggs, Maroon Hill, Lauders, Lowmans Windward, Lowmans Village, Chapmans, Simon, New Adelphi, Stinking Tree Village, Doctor Smith, South Rivers, Mt. Young and Georgetown (including the hospital), Langley Park, Dixon, O’Brien’s Valley, Mt. Bentick, Overland, Magum, Orange Hill, Tourama, Sandy Bay, Point and a section of Owia, (including the Fisheries complex).
At that time, outages remained in Stubbs (near Bonhomme Gap), a section of New Grounds, Bridgetown, North Union, South Union, a section of Owia, and Fancy.
“Our teams remain mobilised and restoration efforts are continuing to return power to all remaining affected customers as safely and as quickly as conditions allow. We thank customers for their continued patience and understanding,” the company said.
A tropical wave affected St. Vincent and the Grenadines Monday night, producing driving rainfall accumulation over the 24-hour period to 130.2 mm or 5.1 inches of rainfall.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, the SVG Met Services said the weather through 6 a.m. Wednesday would be cloudy and breezy with showers and a chance of isolated thunderstorms.
“Residents and motorists in areas prone to flash-flooding and landslides or near rivers and streams should remain alert,” forecasters said.