PM Kamla tours devastated areas in Tobago, promises relief

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Sunday evening toured areas in Tobago hard hit by a weekend storm and promised quick relief.   The heavy flooding was caused by rains from the tail of Hurricane Tomas. She said she could not believe the extent of the devastation she saw, especially in Roxborough. And she promised to everything she can to help. Persad-Bissessar told reporters she was struck by the resilience of the people on the island. "You know what I found very striking when I came was that the people were in such good spirits still and they were saying what I said, which is 'thank God it could have been much worse'. So we are alive," she said at a media briefing at Crown Point Airport. She added, "As far as I know there has been up to now no loss of life...We can fix property damage (but) it's impossible to deal with loss life." Several roads and homes were under flood waters. Many power lines were toppled, caused widespread power outages. People in Roxborough reported that it was the worst they have ever seen.  There was heavy flooding in several other communities as well, which caused numerous landslides. Officials are in the field Monday making an assessment of the extend of the damage.