The Department of Emergency Management was pressed into action yesterday to rescue several persons, as hours of heavy rain left homes and businesses flooded and roads impassable.
Director Kerrie Hinds said that the facility had responded to not only cries from those in the traditional flood-prone areas, but in many other districts around the island as well.
“Some roads are impassable, we also had reports of downed trees, fallen power lines and the emergency services has had to respond to a number of residents who were trapped in their homes or their vehicles.”
A tree fell on a taxi parked in the City, while power lines were down in the St. Stephen’s Hill area and a home in St. Thomas lost its roof. Meanwhile, one elderly person was rescued from their St. Michael home by the Barbados Fire Service, while numerous others had to be rescued after their cars stalled in flood waters.
Police closed Highway Two A between Bagatelle and Redmans Village after two cars were completely submerged in that area. A similar picture was evident in Bank Hall Cross Road as three cars became stalled in high flood waters near that junction. In addition, Highway One was also closed due to heavy flooding in the Holetown area.
As more road closures became known, traffic moved at a snail’s pace as drivers tried to head home, while some students, dismissed at 1p.m. due to the bad weather, braved walking through fast flowing water to make the journey to their respective neighbourhoods.
The island was placed under the warning yesterday afternoon as the combination of a trough system and the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone generated pockets of moderate to heavy showers across Barbados.
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