(Trinidad Express) Mudslides claimed the lives of two Diego Martin men yesterday, as residents in northwest Trinidad had to cope with impassable roads, thick mud in their homes, power outages and, in some areas, no telephone service.
In parts of Maraval, the effects of yesterday’s heavy rains and flooding trapped five families in their homes.
Killed as he slept in his home was 65-year-old Solomon Britto, a retired mechanic and father of one who lived next to his sister at Richplain Road, Diego Martin.
The other man killed was Everald Bentham, 25, of Upper La Puerta in Diego Martin.
Britto’s body was found almost three-quarters of a mile from where he lived, near a bridge along the Diego Martin Main Road close to the Khan and Sons Supermarket and Liquor Mart.
His sister, Rebecca Britto, spoke to the Sunday Express yesterday from the porch of her damaged home.
She recalled that around 4 a.m. yesterday, “I was sleeping and my son rushed out from his room and said how water washing through the place, and when I walk outside I see that my brother house wash away.”
She said: “I know he was sleeping at the time because he sleeps late, but my son tried to get to him in his house but the water pressure was too much and he could not get to him and we had to leave our place and rush over by my brother-in-law (nearby).”
Britto said, “I living here 30 years now and something like this has never happened before.”
Dion Leban, who was one of the two people who dragged Britto’s body out of the mud yesterday, said, “We heard that a man got washed down in the landslide, and it was about ten o’clock when we found him below a sheet of plastic.”
Bentham was killed around the same time as Britto.
He too was at his home at Upper La Puerta Avenue, which was covered in mud during yesterday’s heavy rains, leaving him trapped.
Police and Fire Service officials believe he may have suffocated.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said unconfirmed reports yesterday indicated that two other people were missing after the floods in the area.
The Police and Fire Service Disaster Response Unit and several crews from the Community Enhancement and Environment Protection Programme (CEPEP) were out yesterday performing clean-up duties.
In Maraval, Carenage and Glencoe, the situation was also grim.
Part of the La Horquette Valley Road, which leads into Glencoe, was washed away.
The Ministry of Works said a Bailey Bridge will be constructed along the road as soon as possible.
The Morne Coco Road from Petit Valley, which leads to Maraval, was affected as well, with a large chunk of the broken torn off in the Petit Valley area.
Adding to the frustrations of yesterday’s disaster in Diego Martin was a bmobile cellular tower which had been blown down during heavy winds, leaving hundreds of customers without mobile telephone service.
