A powerful overnight storm that struck late Thursday has left more than 100 residential roofs damaged across the Toco/Sangre Grande constituency, prompting rapid response from local disaster management authorities and government housing officials to begin damage assessments and speed up relief for affected families.
On Saturday, a joint media tour of the hard-hit Azalea Circular neighborhood in Sangre Grande was led by Phillip Alexander, Minister in Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Housing, alongside members of the Toco/Sangre Grande Regional Corporation’s Disaster Management Unit. Also participating in the tour was Kenwyn Phillip, chairman of the regional corporation and local area councillor, who walked the impacted streets with officials to survey destruction and speak directly to residents displaced or harmed by the storm.
The collaborative assessment team, made up of Disaster Management Unit staff and a contingent from the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) under Alexander’s leadership, launched its work to streamline the grant application process for homeowners seeking funding for roof repairs and home restoration.
Alexander explained that the inter-agency coordination is designed to ensure no affected resident falls through the gaps. “As we collect information from each homeowner about their specific needs, all teams will align their efforts based on their respective responsibilities, working in lockstep to deliver tangible relief to every household impacted by this disaster,” he stated.
When questioned about support for homeowners with mortgaged properties, Alexander confirmed that HDC would deploy technical teams to guide residents through the assistance process, and noted that the Ministry of Housing maintains dedicated relief grants separate from resources offered by the regional corporation and local member of parliament.
Phillip added that multiple agencies offer targeted grant programs to address different needs: the Self-Help program typically provides support for building materials, while the Social Services agency assists with replacing damaged personal appliances and household goods. He clarified that the regional corporation itself does not directly issue relief grants.
Alexander also outlined the regional corporation’s role in delivering immediate temporary relief to displaced families, noting that local MP Wayne Sturge has already opened his office as temporary shelter for households forced to evacuate their damaged homes, providing immediate comfort to those who have nowhere else to stay.
Two affected residents shared their harrowing firsthand accounts of the storm’s sudden violence. Joel Spence, whose home suffered partial roof loss, described how the damage unfolded in minutes. “We had planned to go to Paramin on Thursday, but I came back home as rain started pouring and wind began lashing our bedroom,” he recalled. “We watched coconut trees bending in the wind, and by the time we rushed inside to save our bedding from the incoming rain, daylight was suddenly pouring through – the roof was just gone.”
Spence explained that his entire home was flooded, leaving all three of his household’s mattresses soaked. “Last night I slept on the floor, my wife on a blow-up mattress, my stepson on the couch, and only my son’s room escaped damage so he was able to sleep in his own bed,” he said.
Mary Parris, another impacted resident, described watching her entire roof tear loose from her home. “When the rain started, we could see the edge of our roof lifting up and down in the wind – it did that three times before it just ripped clean off and landed in a neighbor’s yard down the street,” she said.
Parris said her grandchildren, who had been upstairs during the storm, ran screaming downstairs in terror. One of her young grandsons was knocked over by the gust of wind as bricks from an upper beam began falling around them. “I grabbed him just as the beam came down – if that beam had hit us, we wouldn’t be here today,” she said. Her grandson was struck by a falling brick on his back, suffering minor scratches to his hand and foot, but was treated and released from the hospital and is now recovering.
“It was a terrifying experience that left me completely traumatized,” Parris added.