Waterlogged

The City of Port of Spain has been probed by flooding occurrences for many years. But within the last decade these flooding events have been escalated due to global warming, high pollution and many other reasons. According to GreenTNT.org, Flooding is a hydrological hazard, which occurs when there is an excess gathering or distribution of water, which outweighs the carrying capacity of the local environment.

According to numbeo.com the city of Port of Spain has a water pollution index high of 83.33. This is caused by the dumping of commercial and residential waste into the city’s 2 main water courses, the East Dry River and the Maraval River, also the city's already small and narrow drains. This causes blockage of these drains and rivers. When this occurs, during any rainfall event no matter its intensity and duration, along with the environmental factors, the blockage by the waste forces the run off to find an alternative route via the city’s impermeable streets, resulting in flooding.

                                          (sourced from Urban Infrastucture - Port of Spain, Trinidad Blog
                                             http://urban-infrastructure.blogspot.com/2015/04/drainage.html)

Because of the heavy pollution which causes this flooding in the City of Port of Spain, there has been many negative effects which could range from negligible to devastating. One of the main effects is damage to property which has occurred to many buildings of South Quay and downtown Port of Spain. The flood waters cause businesses to close their doors and it damages a lot of merchandise resulting in businesses and homes to suffer electrical and material losses. Who is there to replace these items or offer some sort of help physically, emotionally, psychologically and financially? Another effect is garbage in the city is also being swept away by the flood waters creating more pollution in the sea.

Solutions to the flooding in Port of Spain can come in many forms either as a law or as an initiative for example fines and charges can be given to persons found littering in the water courses, but this and existing laws needs to be enforced by the law enforcement. Another solution was the building of a detention pond to combat the flooding. This pond did not seem like it was thought of properly and thoroughly because the flooding throughout the city has not decreased significantly.

In my view the only way to combat the flooding in Port of Spain is to implement proper laws and restrictions on pollution and it's up to us as a nation to make a change before it is too late.

References

Accessed April 9, 2015. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7313/8747269885_74c2d81d48_o.jpg.

Coastal Issues / Coastal Care. Accessed April 9, 2015. http://coastalcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/trinidad-flooding.jpg.

"Ministry of Works and Infrastructure - Projects - Detention Ponds." Ministry of Works and Infrastructure - Ministry of Works and Infrastructure. Accessed April 9, 2015. http://www.mowt.gov.tt/general/project.aspx?projectID=10.

Newsday. n.d. http://www.newsday.co.tt/galeria/South_Quay_Flooding_(7)new_CC.jpg.

"Pollution in Port Of Spain, Trinidad And Tobago." Cost of Living. Accessed April 9, 2015. http://www.numbeo.com/pollution/city_result.jsp?country=Trinidad+And+Tobago&city=Port+Of+Spain.

Taylor, Robert. "Post of Spain Flooding." Trinidad Express, October 20, 2010. Accessed April 9, 2015. http://www.trinidadexpress.com/photos/Port-of-Spain-Flooding-105355433.html.