DEVELOPMENT OF A FLOOD EARLY WARNING SYSTEM WITH FLOOD GATE (2020)

In November 2018, because of the devastating floods to impact Trinidad in several communities, the Trinidad & Tobago Red Cross Society (TTRCS) received TTD$300,000 from RBC Royal Bank for flood response. However, TTRCS was well supported through other donors for response, therefore it was proposed to RBC to use the funds to develop a Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) in an effort to alleviate the human suffering of future major flood events by providing communities with ample warning. The TTRCS convened a technical working group comprised of the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, Water Resources Agency, and the Met Office to brainstorm and develop a cost effective system as a pilot project. The WRA proposed using their existing infrastructure of streamflow stations and rainfall gauges across most of the country as a basis for providing data for a FEWS. The TTRCS proposed to expand the monitoring capability of the WRA by donating two additional streamflow stations for the flood prone communities of Greenvale, St. Helena (and environs) and Oropune Gardens. The technical engagement quickly led to ideas of implementation of a national level early warning system with the pilot areas being the communities Greenvale, St. Helena and Oropune.

The success of any early warning system had to involve a strong community engagement and accountability component which was driven by the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, through the municipal Disaster Management Unit (DMU) and the TTRCS through intensive Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. Through this collaboration we engaged in the development of community risk profiles that highlighted key vulnerabilities and capacities that exist in the pilot communities.