Jack challenges Town & Country Planning Division to do a better job

Jack Warner told reporters Sunday "a tragedy of immense proportion" is possible unless the Town and Planning Division does a better job of monitoring the construction of houses.

The Works and Infrastructure Minister added that the flooding that caused widespread destruction over the weekend was partly because of deforestation caused by construction on the hills.

Warner was speaking to the at Cocorite following the Prime Minister's tour of several areas affected by Saturday heavy rains and floods, which caused severe damage to several homes and communities in northwest Trinidad.

"Town and Country Planning, if nothing else, has to come on board and actively look at the places where people build homes...otherwise we shall have a tragedy of immense proportion," he said.

"That is part of the problem, people on the hills and they of course deforest the hills and we suffer as a result and we have to nip that in the bud," he said.

Warner also said government’s emergency fund for disasters would be insufficient to deal with the amount of work that is needed. “While I was coming here today, I was thinking even if we have twice the amount, we can’t do it," he said.

“Therefore we have to have some kind of strategic plan that will do the critical works first and then you always prioritise. That is what we have to sit and do because all where we you go everything is a priority but we just simply can’t do everything at the same time,” he said.