Ministry of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Development and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI), Department of Infrastructure Management was busy on Saturday night and Sunday cleaning up after the torrential rainfall event that the country experienced on Saturday evening, according to department head Claudius Buncamper.
On Sunday morning infrastructure crews started to clear drains and waterways as well as other road debris from small rock falls to other debris that washed unto the road from more than six inches of rainfall that the country received.
Storm water pumps will remain operational until water levels in the Salt Pond and Fresh Water Ponds reach an acceptable level.
A number of the country’s roads were flooded as well as surrounding areas including Zaegersgut road, Bush road and partially the L.B. Scott road.
A trench was dug on the beach near the Sonesta Great Bay Hotel & Casino in order to facilitate the large volume of rainwater that had collected in the Fresh Water Pond basin to flow into Great Bay. Current floodgates could not contain the volume of water and therefore were breached.
Link 1, phase 2 in Cay Hill was closed to all motorized traffic due to rock falls in that particular area.
An infrastructure preliminary assessment carried out revealed that there was some serious flooding in the Cay Hill area in the vicinity of the St. Maarten Medical Center.
Puma road and the Octavious Richardson Street were flooded out completely. The residential areas of St. Peters and Ebenezer experienced a lot of water, but no serious flooding was detected in an initial on scene assessment by public works.
In Suckergarden and Arch road, flooding took place. Several vehicles ended up in the trench due to the high water levels while other cars stalled on the country’s road network. The Police assisted in removing the vehicles from the trenches.
The Dutch Quarter area also experienced serious flooding in the area of Quiltor drive, but as the water subsided vehicular traffic was able to navigate through the area.
The Cole Bay area suffered some serious flooding especially on Orange Grove road, Wellington road, Wigley Street, and Washington Street. Water levels were very high and moving fast. Public works immediately closed off these areas and re-opened them once water levels subsided and passage through those streets was declared safe.