(Trinidad Newsday) Strong winds, accompanied by heavy rains blew the roofs of 15 homes, five in Point Fortin and ten in the Penal/Debe area on Thursday.
Point Fortin mayor Abdon Mason said there are also reports of downed electricity lines and fallen trees in Egypt Village, Warden Road and in the vicinity of Heritage Petrotrin Company Ltd (formerly Petrotrin).
There have been no reports of injuries.
“There were two episodes of strong winds, one around 12.45 pm and another around 2.30 pm. The second one came with a force and that’s when the damage was done,” Mason said.
He said he and the Disaster Management Unit (DMU) were on the ground assessing the damage while trying to provide assistance for approximately 25 people who are presently affected.
He said the owners of two houses in Southern Gardens, one in Dam Road, Egypt Village, another Stafford Street, Warden Road and a fifth in Fanny Village would have suffered major losses as all household and electronic items were water-logged.
He said one of the roof’s which blew off landed on the roof of a nearby house also causing some damage.
Mason applauded residents whom he said immediately responded to help their neighbours trying to salvage and repair what they could.
He said it is unlikely home owners and their families will be able to sleep in their homes.
“In the concrete structures at Southern Gardens, everything is damaged – furniture, couches, beds, computes, refrigerators – because the entire roofs blew off leaving everything exposed.
“The emergency operation crew is doing an assessment right now. In the first instance we are offering tarpaulins and mattresses. We will be following up to see what else would be required. Clean up crews have also been deployed to the affected areas,” he said.
