By Jada Chambers
Following the severe flash flooding and landslides that struck Saint Vincent and the Grenadines earlier last week, Prime Minister Godwin Friday has praised the resilient “Vincy spirit” of citizens who spearheaded immediate, community-led cleanup efforts.
Speaking at a press conference at the Cabinet Room on Friday, the Prime Minister provided a comprehensive update on the aftermath of Tuesday’s torrential deluge and acknowledged a US$100,000 recovery donation from the Republic of China (Taiwan) to support ongoing rehabilitation works.
Data released by SVG Meteorological Services revealed that the disaster unfolded when the unstable moisture system dumped up to 130.2 mm (5.1 inches) of rain over a single 24-hour period across the country. The intense atmospheric setup triggered rapid river overflows, widespread slope slippages, and extreme saturation of local soils, forcing the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) to activate its National Emergency Operations Centre to manage over 103 verified disaster incident reports.
“As you are well aware, over the past few days, Tuesday specifically…we experienced heavy rainfall, resulting in flooding, landslides, and damage in several communities,” Friday stated.
While recognising that there has been no loss of life, no reported injuries, or missing persons, he noted that some families have been significantly affected, homes were flooded, people were displaced, and schools, health facilities, businesses, roads, and infrastructure were inundated.
He assured the public that the Deputy Prime Minister, other ministers, senior government officials, and police officers spent a lot of time on the ground on Tuesday, seeing the firsthand impact of the severe weather.
“There was damage, and of course, debris that blocked drainage and blocked roads that had to be cleared,” he said.
“We spoke with residents and persons from the various communities we visited. We spoke with business owners here, particularly in Kingstown, who were affected on Tuesday,” Friday noted, adding that his team also spoke with workers and community members who came out and saw the work that needed to be done.
“…[They] didn’t get on the phone, they got a shovel out… chainsaw out, and they started to work,” he said, lauding these individuals for displaying the true “Vincy spirit.” He added that they were the ones who stood out the most during his tour of the damaged areas.
“Neighbours were helping neighbours, workers were clearing debris and mud, and I want to congratulate really, to thank all… the workers, the sanitation workers here in Kingstown, the persons who were operating heavy equipment and bobcats and so forth around the country, who came out early and started getting the work done.”
Friday outlined that he visited the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, which was perennially affected by floods.
“This was particularly, from what I gathered, a bad situation; but what’s heartwarming is that immediately they had a plan in place,” he explained.
He noted that hospital workers moved the affected patients from the paediatric and maternity wards into different areas of the facility to ensure their safety.
“Some people came in earlier than they normally would because they knew that the efforts would be required to help to restore the various places at the hospital to the level of function that they could, then offer service to the community.”
Friday added that doctors, nurses, orderlies, and ordinary workers all lent a helping hand during the crisis.
“…It wasn’t a seniority situation where you say some doing broom, some doing other more highfalutin work.”
He reiterated that everyone at the hospital testified to the “wonderful Vincentian spirit” by pitching in and demonstrating that when people work together, a lot of work gets done effectively.
Beyond the localized community response, the briefing highlighted a rapid mobilization of international relief and diaspora aid aimed at reinforcing the government’s recovery chest.
“And they were able to be very effective on that day. We are also grateful to the assistance that we received from persons, individuals, from friends, from last night, as you saw when we were at the celebration for the 115th National Day for Taiwan, we received a check for US$100,000 from Ambassador Fan to assist with the cleanup and the recovery efforts from this flooding that occurred because of a tropical wave that passed through our region.”
Friday thanked the Taiwan embassy, their government, and the people of Taiwan for their swift contribution. He also highlighted the overwhelming support flooding in from the diaspora.