45 communities crippled by landslips, flooding – TT Newsday

HEAVY overnight and morning showers on Saturday have inundated rural and suburban communities across the country with flash flooding, landslides, fallen utility poles and trees. While the runoff was quick in some areas, thousands of people were confined to their homes, with many surrounded by impassable levels of water, while others have been unable to traverse out of their communities because of landslides and other blockages on minor and major roads. At just after 3 pm on Saturday, the Meteorological Service issued a riverine flood alert – yellow, taking effect until Monday, unless revised. It said accumulated rainfall has caused major river levels across Trinidad to be near or above 80 per cent, and smaller watercourses at “critical levels.”