Penal residents affected by flooding and an oil spill were counting their losses on Friday as clean-up operations continued. Several wildlife species have also been affected but have since been rescued and rehabilitated.
On Thursday, as the floodwater receded, state-owned Heritage Petroleum Ltd had isolated and repaired the source of the leak on a four-inch oil-transfer line which affected residents of at Katwaroo, Ramdharry and Digity Traces.
On Friday at Ramdharry Trace, Usha Boodram told Newsday that she and her six children had been staying at a relative's home for the past few days. When she visited on Tuesday, her rented wooden house that does not have electricity was surrounded by floodwater mixed with oil.
[caption id="attachment_1021585" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Trucks remove oil from the lagoon at Ramdharry trace Penal following a spill in the area on Friday. - Lincoln Holder[/caption]
The water destroyed her washing machine and a couch.
She said she and her children had been living in the structure since December. On Sunday, they left the house as other residents warned her about flooding in the area.
On Tuesday, she returned home and got into the house by removing several louvers from a window and climbing inside.
She tried securing items by placing them on higher grounds and left again.
"This is the first flood we had since living here. I came back today to try and clean up. These people are helping with the cleaning," Boodram said.
She was referring to two workmen from Arav Construction Ltd who Heritage contracted.
Basdaye Ramlakan, 78, who lives next door, recalled that she left home on Saturday morning when the flood water began rising. The elderly woman said the entire yard and part of her shed was already flooded.
[caption id="attachment_1021586" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Usha Boodram of Ramdharry Trace, Penal, speaks to Newsday through the window which she and her six children use to access their home after an oil spill in the area on Friday. - Lincoln Holder[/caption]
She walked through the water to get out of the street where someone was waiting to take her to relatives.
Ramlakan returned home on Thursday morning when she found out about the oil leak.
The widow said floodwater got into her home.
"I couldn't wait for people to come and clean. I paid someone to help me," she said.
At Katwaroo Trace, resident Aleem Khan said many animals like snakes and caiman died in the contaminated water.
Khan said residents alerted Heritage when the oil was first spotted in the floodwaters on Monday.
[caption id="attachment_1021587" align="alignnone" width="683"] Aleem Khan a resident of Katwaroo Trace, Penal, speaks to Newsday about the effects of flooding and an oil spill in the area on Friday. - Lincoln Holder[/caption]
"The response was good from Heritage, and they are doing their work.
"On Monday night, they came into the area on a boat. They did not reach on this side, but the next day they were here and did assessments."
He recalled that the water
