A sudden intense storm swept through the borough of Siparia in southwestern Trinidad on Thursday, leaving a trail of property destruction that has displaced multiple local families and damaged dozens of personal belongings. Strong gusts of wind tore through residential neighborhoods, ripping entire roofing structures from at least nine homes, dislodging galvanized-iron roofing sheets and leaving interior spaces exposed to heavy rainfall.
Widespread damage was concentrated in the Palo Seco district, where four residential properties across multiple communities including Palo Seco Settlement, Number Nine Road, Number Four Road, and Quinam’s Taylor Avenue recorded structural damage to their roofs. One of the most heavily affected properties was a vacant home owned by 70-year-old Angela Paul on Taylor Avenue, whose entire roof was torn away by the storm’s high winds.
Paul’s granddaughter, Tenisha Pascall, recounted the chaos of the midday storm to local outlet Express. She was at her own nearby home when the storm hit around 11:36 a.m., and recalled that the entire region was pummeled by uncommonly strong winds that sent loose debris flying across neighborhoods. “I heard a loud bang, and my daughter asked me if I had heard it too. Moments later, a post popped up in a local community group chat saying a house had lost its roof. I called around to check, and found out it was my grandmother’s house,” Pascall said.
She added that she was caught completely off guard by the severity of the damage: “I never would have guessed the winds were strong enough to tear an entire roof off. I feel so bad for my relatives – they had just finished fixing the place up to move in over the next few weeks.” Paul’s home has been unoccupied for some time, but two of her family members had been preparing to relocate there imminently before the storm hit.
Anton George, the local government councillor for Palo Seco, told reporters on the ground at Taylor Avenue that the storm’s damage extended far beyond broken roofing. Many affected residents reported that rain poured straight into their homes after roofs were damaged, soaking beds, damaging household appliances, and ruining personal property that was stored inside. As of Thursday afternoon, local officials had not received any reports of injuries related to the storm.
The Siparia Disaster Management Unit deployed quickly to the affected neighborhoods immediately after the storm passed. Responders distributed emergency cots to displaced families and launched a full damage assessment to quantify the total impact of the storm. George has pushed for urgent support from national government bodies, calling on the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services to expedite aid to affected residents.
“We are calling for prompt assistance for all the families that have lost their homes and property to this storm. We understand that processing support takes time, and the local Siparia Disaster Management Unit is already doing its part by collecting damage reports and forwarding them to the ministry. We just ask that the ministry moves quickly to get help to these vulnerable people as soon as possible,” George said.