The Prime Minister sounded the alarm in a statement on Saturday describing the bad weather as a "weather emergency."
"The international forecasts are for further incoming heavy rainfall over the next two days. Already there is significant damage to our road infrastructure in very many parts of the country. We are anticipating increased flooding and landslides in susceptible areas. Citizens are requested to be very alert to these dangers and, as far as feasible, restrict your movements until the dangers have passed or are abated," Dr Rowley said in a statement posted on Facebook early Saturday morning. He said all arms and agencies of state are fully mobilised.
Later at an emergency press conference, Local Government and Rural Development Minister Faris Al-Rawi, Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan and Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds reinforced this warning.
Rowley also included a YouTube video from an online weather blogger to support his statement and during the question-and-answer segment, Al-Rawi said the information came from multiple official sources.
During the ministers' presentations, Al-Rawi and Sinanan urged people not to leave their homes unless necessary.
This warning comes as there have been multiple reports of flash flooding, landslips, fallen trees and rivers reaching or exceeding its capacity throughout the day.
Al-Rawi added that there would be more rainfall within the next five to six days and the Met Office also extended its yellow-level weather alert from midday Saturday to midday on Monday.
The last press conference the ministry had regarding bad weather was on October 6 where Al-Rawi expressed his condolences on a Lopinot woman Theresa Lynch who was swept away by raging waters in the Lopinot River. Her body was found days later.
Al-Rawi said that TT is not under any sort of organised weather system but the country will see a significant amount of rainfall. The Met Office says TT was experiencing a "low-level trough."
"We are taking the caution to warn that we do expect significant flooding issues in a circumstance where people wouldn't normally expect it because there wasn't a trigger," Al-Rawi said.
Sinanan was more cryptic: "We have to just prepare for the worst and hope for the best."
"If you can avoid going on the road network, please do not go on the road network because it can complicate things for the movement of equipment and so and you can be trapped in the floodwaters. Please, do not take it for granted that your area has not flooded in the past because this is unprecedented rainfall."
[caption id="attachment_987756" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Residents of Mayfield Drive, North Valsayn clean up after flooding in their neighbourhood on Saturday. - SUREASH CHOLAI[/caption]
He said those who rely on public transportation can still depend on it as the services were not suspended.
"I am going to co-ordinate with the Public Service Transport Commission (PTSC) should in case we have to evacuate people or move people, we would have the
