Get ready for more of the same rains that led to Thursday’s flooding in some areas.
Weather officials are forecasting similar rainy conditions that led to the flash flooding in some areas for the entire Easter weekend. Thursday’s deluge prompted a flood warning from the Barbados Met Services and left some residents temporarily stranded in their homes. Motorists and pedestrians had to carefully make their way through flooded streets, especially in the St Michael, St James and St Peter parishes.
The forecast for Saturday, Sunday and Monday is fair to partly cloudy conditions with brief scattered/isolated showers as surface to low level shearline continues to affect the island, the Met Office website stated.
Thursday’s sudden downpour left some residents crying out because of flooding in their area.
Among them were Ottaline Hall, 88, in Husbands New Development, St James and John Parris at St Stephen’s Hill, Black Rock, St Michael where he, using a shovel, tried his best to ease the flooded road in his district.
Parris, while attempting to clear the flooded drains, called for wells.
“We need more wells up here because lots of water comes down the hill and the lone well in the area cannot contain the water and the drains need clearing also . . . . Every time the rain falls out here, I does have to get a shovel and go out in the pouring rain to clear the drains so that the massive amounts of water can flow freely and it is time that those in authority do something about the flooding problem out here,” he said.
Meantime, Hall was shocked at the amount of water outside her home when she opened the door of her home where she has lived for more than 30 years.
She said it was not the first time the area flooded, but repairs were done on the well there only last month when it was cleaned and lots of dirt removed from it.
“They dug a new well and the water still ain’t going off, so it must be the fault of the road, the road must want lifting. I thought with the well dig we done with the flooding. I was surprised when I opened my door and see how out here stay,” she said.
Hall said the rain fell for about 30 minutes leaving them stuck inside their homes.
Those who were out also could not get in. One of Hall’s daughters parked her car further up the road and “hopped on the sidewalk” until she got home. She was not sure what her other daughter would do.
Over at Bridge Gap, Black Rock, water was gushing through the drains along with lots of debris and overflowing into the road. Residents watched as the water made its way through the drains and into the road.
The Met Office stated that the combination of a trough system, light winds and strong daytime heating generated cloudy skies, causing between one to three inches of rain in the north, west and central parts of the island that put the island under a flood warning for several hours before it was discontinued at 6 p.m. (SAT/RL/AC)
