The Department of Emergency Management (DEM) received 25 incident reports following the passage of Hurricane Tammy to the north of the island, between the night of Friday, October 20, and the evening of Saturday, October 21, 2023.
These reports included property damage, such as leaking roofs and the partial collapse of a house in White Hill, St. Andrew; flooding and its secondary impacts of persons being trapped in homes and or vehicles; flooded vehicles; and impassable roads.
Deputy Director of the Department of Emergency Management, Captain Robert Harewood, added that a 78-year-old female had to be rescued by the Barbados Fire Service from a vehicle in Black Rock, and the occupants from the partially collapsed house, who had been linked with the Ministry of People Empowerment and the Welfare Department for assistance, had sought temporary shelter with a relative.
He gave this overview following assessments with Minister of Home Affairs and Information, Wilfred Abrahams, and other officials, following the impact of the feeder bands on the island.
Captain Harewood said the responses were coordinated by the DEM, along with the Barbados Fire Service, the Ministry of Transport, Works and Maintenance, and the District Emergency Organisations.
He explained that the DEM had activated a partial level of the National Emergency Operations Centre to manage incident reports and to coordinate responses. During the operation, the DEM also provided tarpaulin and sandbags to the affected.
In addition, although the island remained open for business, the emergency services were placed on alert and three emergency shelters were activated in St. Lucy, St. James, and Christ Church to provide safe shelter, if required.
The Deputy Director noted that after the system’s passage, assessments were conducted in the areas which recorded significant flooding, and included Fontabelle and Murphy’s Pasture in St. Michael, and Goodland Gardens and Chancery Lane in Christ Church.
Speaking after the team visited Fontabelle and Murphy’s Pasture, Captain Harewood noted that there was a significant amount of garbage which had blocked the recently cleared canal and was responsible for the water being backed up in the area.
“This type of situation requires us to be more mindful of our garbage situation. This is about five feet of garbage that has built up and causing the water to be backed up and resulting in a significant amount of challenges,” he said.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Minister Abrahams who noted that after the drains were cleared of the plastic bottles that had them blocked, the water started to flow immediately.
“Once this amount of rain falls in a short space of time, we will get some flooding, but we still have to mitigate the effects of those. The indiscriminate dumping all across Barbados is not making the problem better, but is making it worst,” the Minister stated.