Row, row, row your boat gently down the street...these two men found another way to get through floodwaters in Sunset Crest, St. James, yesterday.

Bridgetown, Nov 18, 2004 (Daily Nation) - Personnel from the Central Emergency Relief Organisation (CERO) had to be called in after more heavy rains turned some northern districts into virtual swamps yesterday.

For the second consecutive day, torrential afternoon showers drenched the north and west of the island, causing flash flooding that led to traffic jams in every highway and byway from St Michael into St Thomas, St James and St Peter.

Holetown, Bagatelle, Sunset Crest, Vauxhall, Haynesville and Holders Hill were the areas most affected.

So serious was the situation that Barbados Defence Force soldiers were placed at Holetown Road where water reached an astonishing four feet, diverting traffic through to nearby Molyneux Road.

Reports indicated that several cars were stalled, employees were trapped at their workplaces and several frustrated commuters were stuck at bus stops for hours, because no public transportation could access Holetown from any direction.

An adventure tours jeep stuck in nearly three feet

The Barbados Fire Service was also unable to access certain roads because of the congested traffic and the high levels of water.

Residents in Sunset Crest became prisoners in their own homes, and some commuters were trapped in cars and public service vehicles, as the waters rose to dangerous levels from around 3 p.m.

Members of the Defence Force and the Barbados Coast Guard, equipped with rafts, had to rescue passengers from vehicles, transferring them to the safety of trucks.

Many motorists abandoned their cars, which were tossed to and fro like driftwood in the raging waters.

Passengers of one minibus, headed to Bridgetown from Speightstown, suddenly found themselves going nowhere when the bus stalled. A brave few rolled up their pants, hoisted their dresses and disembarked, but those who were cautious, remained trapped for hours until a tow truck came to their rescue.

The only ones who seemed to be enjoying the weather, were scores of schoolchildren who walked barefooted without a care in the knee-deep water. Some residents even became creative, like one woman who “sailed” through the water on a tiny boat to drier ground.

In the flood prone Bagatelle residential area in St Thomas, residents watched in horror as water reached as high as guard walls, trapping them in their homes and threatening to invade.

Winifred Griffith, who has endured this situation year after year, appealed to authorities to do something about this ongoing situation.

“This is four years that they have not cleaned the wells and drains, and they promised to sink another well and we are still waiting,” she said as she pointed to the mud which remained on her walls after the water had dissipated.

Director of CERO Judy Thomas was on the scene, working right along with emergency personnel. She visited some residents in St James, the hardest hit parish, offering them the option of evacuation, but many of them chose to stay put.

“The situation is very grave, as far as I am seeing, for the residents in Sunset Crest. I would advise people to try and secure what they have inside their homes at this time, and make the decision whether they want to leave for the night.

“For those who opt to leave, we have mobilised the army, and they have set up a staging area in the vicinity close to Chefette.

“They will operate and deploy resources from that site,” said Thomas.

She said the water would take some time to drain since it seemed to be trapped in a basin.

Source: http://www.nationnews.com/StoryView.cfm?Record=55348&Section=LO&Current=2004%2D11%2D18%2000%3A00%3A00