The Eastern Caribbean
Severe flooding over the last two days in the Eastern Caribbean has caused the deaths of at least 13 people – five in St. Lucia and eight in St. Vincent & The Grenadines.
The eight confirmed dead in St. Vincent & the Grenadines on Christmas day include a two-year-old child. In addition, three persons remain missing after heavy rains overnight triggered massive floods and landslides damaging roads and houses in St. Vincent.
The heavy rains and strong winds have been blamed on the moisture and instability associated with a trough system that has affected several Caribbean countries, most notably Dominica and St. Lucia.
The loss of life was most significant in North Leeward, in northwest St. Vincent, where five members of one household died when a slope collapsed unto their house in Rose Bank.
Rescue teams were still searching for 12-year-old Inka Jack and Josell Small, both of whom were swept away by floodwaters at separate locations on Tuesday night.
The National Emergency Management Organisation, said that 50 per cent of consumers island-wide were without pipe-borne water and would remain so for an extended period .
St. Lucia
A policeman was among the five flood victims in St. Lucia on Tuesday. Police Officer Calvin Louis was reportedly crushed by a wall while trying to help persons in an area in Vieux Fort city. Officer Louis was working as a Special Services Unit officer in Vieux Fort at the time of his death.
Much of the southern and western sections of the island are still without water, electricity and telecommunications service.
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