PM: Parts of North Central Windward a disaster area

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has declared parts of his constituency a disaster area, and has called for the residents of the areas affected by heavy rains to be very positive.{{more}}

During his visit to the North Central Windward town of Georgetown just hours after continuous rains caused flash flooding in the area, destroying homes, businesses and infrastructure, Dr. Gonsalves took time out to address the constituents and media.

Sitting on a piece of log that had found its way from the mountains to the main road in Langley Park, the Prime Minster conveyed his amazement at what he described as ‘the awesome power of nature’.

“I have never seen anything as this in my lifetime. This year I’ll be 65 years on God’s earth in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I’ve never seen something as this.

“Though Hurricane Tomas affected houses and agricultural crops, this particular depression caused infinitely more damage to the roads, bridges and physical infrastructure.”

The Prime Minister, who was being updated by Chief Engineer Brent Bailey, Chief Executive Officer of BRAGSA Brian George, as well as other officials throughout his visit, gave a preliminary unofficial assessment of what was seen, and speculated that the cost of repairs and rebuilding could run into the tens of millions of dollars.

He said that the population between the Mount Young bridge and Fancy constitutes about 15% of the country’s population, hence the reason the area is being declared a disaster area.

He indicated that the Langley Park Government School had been turned into an emergency shelter for persons whose homes were washed away or could not be occupied.

“We have to do that in a way to make sure that the children in the classes who have Common Entrance very shortly still continue their tuition, while we take care of the people there, (because) what hasn’t been washed away are just unlivable because of the dirt and the silt and they will be unlivable for several weeks.”

Dr. Gonsalves indicated that he was in Barbados at the time of the downpour, which occurred sometime after 11pm on Monday night, and was awakened by a phone call from officials at NEMO, informing him of the situation.

As the Prime Minister toured the area, shouts of ‘Have faith,’ and ‘Stay strong’ were heard by persons in the crowd who were in the vicinity, to which he responded with words of encouragements of his own.

“I want everybody to be of good faith and good cheer. This might look daunting, but once we are alive we will make progress and get it done.

“I want the people of Basin Hole and Langley Park to have courage and faith. I know we are in a difficult period, but we have come out of difficulties before – we just have to stay with one another and have good solidarity with one another.

“… So I have to begin to look for the money for us to get this done properly….” (JJ)