Tomas batters St Peter

Chairman of the northern DEO David Hurley, (hard hat) accompanied by Owen Arthur, on a tour of affected northern villages (by Kaymar Jordan)

Mon, November 01, 2010 - 12:15 AM

MORE THAN 50 houses in St Peter have been damaged by ropical Storm Tomas.

This assessment from chairman of the northern District Emergency Office (DEO), Dave Hurley, came during a tour of worst-affected villages in the parish with parliamentary representative Owen Arthur yesterday.

Speaking at the end of the tour, about midday yesterday, Hurley described the situation then as “critical”, noting that several houses were in need of some form of repair. He also expressed concern at the time that St Peter had been without electricity, phone and water services.

Later in the day, limited electricity service was restored, but Hurley said several key roads remained impassable owing to the heavy debris and fallen trees.

“We have severe damage; the arteries in some of the districts such as The Whim, Church Hill going towards Haymans, are still impassable and I haven’t gotten into Black Bless yet. But I understand they have some damage also.

“We are also without electricity; phones are down, so there is no communication within Boscobel/Collins and part of Diamond Corner,” he said.

The situation has been frustrating for villagers, including those in Gays, who said they had been experiencing electricity blackouts even before Tomas’ arrival.

Eighty-two-year-old Stella Phillips of Collins was also anxious to have something done about the torn roof of her uninsured home. So too was her closest relative Cheryl Phillips, whose home next door was also decapitated by Tomas.

Also desperately in need of help is Celeste Hurley, whose home is now a flooded mess, as well as the Lopez family of Johnson Road and and the Clarke family of Castle – both of whom have been left without a place of their own to call home.

“From my estimate, I can say that we are looking to be over the 50-number mark for houses damaged or destroyed,” Hurley said.

He said the DEO would be working with the relevant agencies to deal with the immediate shelter needs in St Peter, where the Boscobel Primary School also suffered roof damage.

For his part, Arthur described the damage as “significant” and promised to assist in getting help to those most affected.

The former Prime Minister also appeared particularly pleased that a “checked dam” system that was instituted as a pilot project between 2002 and 2005 by his former administration had helped to alleviate flooding.

“There is a system in place that has worked well; the disaster management team and the public officials have worked well together; and I am pleased with the fact that the people in St Peter are responding to their own needs; that where roofs have blown off they are trying to put them back on; there is a lot of self-help and community involvement,” he added.

The Opposition Leader, who said he had been in touch with most of his MPs following the passage of the storm, also commented on the overall impact suffered by Barbados.

He said while St Joseph appeared to be hardest hit, “it seems that this [impact] is a generalised problem; and it seems as though it [Tomas] caught us napping a little bit.

“I am not sure what is behind it, but I certainly wasn’t myself fully aware of what was about to happen. So it seems as though it took people by surprise,” Arthur said, adding that the lesson foR a country arising out of this latest catastrophe is “always be prepared”. (KJ)