Heavy rains wreak havoc

CASTRIES (CMC):

Heavy rains over the past five days have caused wide-spread damage across the island but there have been no reports so far of any deaths.

Director of Meteorological Services Thomas Auguste said that the weather pattern is not only unusual, but it is the highest recorded for the month of April in many years.

"Up to Friday morning, we recorded 354.4 millimetres (mm) of rainfall in the south which is the highest on our records for April which we started compiling in 1973, and the month is not done as yet," he said.

"In the north, we recorded 237.10mm. This is our second-highest on record. The last time we had such high rainfall was in 1981. So, to put that in perspective, the average rainfall in the south for April since 1973 is 66mm and for the north 72mm, so this month so far is five times the average," Auguste noted.

He said the rains have left many hillsides now recovering from the passage of Hurricane Tomas last year, very saturated and officials from the National Emergency Organisation have told residents to be on the lookout for landslides and flooding.