News, News-buzz

Getting Back to Normal After The Storm

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The William Peter Boulevard ready for business the morning after the storm

As the island was slowly coming to life on Thursday morning following the passage of Tropical Storm Matthew, hundreds of people were already on the ball, braving the elements to return the island to normalcy.

Employees from St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC), the Water and Sewerage Company (WASCO) and the Castries Constituency Council (CCC) among others certainly served the nation honourably with speed and efficiency to rectify the havoc caused by the storm.

From 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, reports were starting to flood in over the television and radio airwaves, as well as via social media, of power and water outages, and within the following few hours, a vast number of communities around the island were left with no electricity or running water.

However, the utility companies, as well as the workers of the CCC, set off to remedy the situation from the wee hours of Thursday morning and their efforts were evident as most services were up and running by the end of the day.

Also, with the exception of a few leaves, the city of Castries, as well as a number of other communities around the island, looked fairly untouched and unscathed by the volatile weather system. This was a stark contrast of the state of these areas before the clean-ups.

LUCELEC’s Corporate Communications Manager, Roger Joseph, did his best to keep the nation informed of the company’s progress and showed zeal by being amongst the workers on the field as the day passed.

Joseph said that as a result of trees and branches falling onto power lines, fallen poles and mainly the flooding of the Union Sub-station, 70 percent of customers were left affected; however, by midday, approximately 75 percent of those customers had electricity.

Joseph added that even amidst challenges faced by the crews in efforts to get to Soufriere during the morning, the goal was set to restore 98 percent of the system by the end of the day, and by 3:00 p.m., they were well on their way with 85 percent of the electricity infrastructure being energized.

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On Friday morning, an official press release was sent out by the company which read:

“As at 8:00 a.m. today approximately 99 percent of the electricity infrastructure has been energised, following the passage of Tropical Storm Matthew.

“A few small areas, some individual or small groups of customers remained without power last night (due to localized faults or the need for transformer replacements) when the LUCELEC crews finally knocked off about midnight after a very long day in the field. These areas include: some parts of Cap Estate, Bonne Terre, Bois d’Orange, Barnard Hill, Morne Fortune (near Sir Arthur Lewis Community College), Talvern, Marquis River, Aux Lyons, Vieux Sucreic (Sikwi), Piton Flore, and near the Sugar Beach Hotel in Soufriere.

“Much of the remaining work involves replacement of transformers, low voltage line repairs, repairing broken service lines (from the pole to the customer’s meter), and repairs to hanging or fallen meters. LUCELEC crews were already back in the field early this morning attending to these remaining issues. The transformer replacements, low voltage line repairs are being done first, and the service line and meter repair or replacement work will be done subsequently.

“Overall, the main electricity infrastructure held up fairly well during Tropical Storm Matthew. Apart from the Union Sub-station which suffered some minimal flooding, the Cul De Sac Power Station and the remaining sub-stations (Cul de Sac, Soufriere, Vieux Fort, Praslin, Castries, Reduit) all came through the weather system intact. The Union Substation was cleaned and fully reinstated into the electricity system by 7:55 p.m.

“Several parts of the island suffered power outages during the storm as a result of the loss of Union Substation, branches or trees falling on power lines or poles coming down. Based on system loading, approximately, 70 percent of customers would have been affected.

Power restoration work began early Thursday morning and by the end of the day 99 percent of the system had been reenergized. It is expected that all remaining works will be completed within the next 48 hours.

For WASCO’s part, Communications and Public Relations Manager, D’Anthony Charles, gave frequent updates via the different airways and like the electricity services, regular water services were restored to the majority of households by the end on the day.

Whilst the two utility companies were keeping the public informed about their efforts to restore normalcy, personnel of the CCC worked just as arduously, and they did so silently.

Whilst Castries and its environs looked like a war zone immediately after the storm, by midday on Thursday, the capital was clean and ready for the next business day.

The same applause is due for hundreds of residents all over the island who worked around the clock to clean up their respective communities.

In a show of solidarity and humanity, many formed groups to go out and pitch in to clear debris, fallen trees, mud, flood water and damaged furniture and appliances from the houses and pathways of those affected most by the storm.

No effort was spared to get the island up and running and in high spirits.

Throughout Thursday, amongst the hundreds of calls from individuals to the local television and radio stations to either let their loved ones know they were safe, request help, alert the utility companies of downed power lines or ruptured pipe lines as well as to report injuries or emergencies, many individuals called in to applaud and commend the utility companies for their valiant efforts and hard work.

Grateful callers were also asking irate and/or frustrated locals to practise patience as the men and women on the job were undoubtedly working assiduously to assist.

Undoubtedly, Thursday’s collective efforts contributed to a fresh start for the island as all systems were up and running and it was back to business as usual.

Rochelle entered the Media fraternity in May 2011 as a fresh-faced young woman with a passion for the English language, a thirst for worldly knowledge and a longing to inform the world of what was happening around them, whether it was good or bad.

She began as part of a small news team at Choice Television, which falls under the MediaZone umbrella. She was hired as one of the original members of the newly created Choice News Now team...Read full bio...

 

7 Comments

  1. /

    NORMALCY ? “Cotey” Ste. Lecee ???

    Rochelle, I do acknowledge your optimism, but viewing the complete picture, I have concluded that “Normalcy” may have been aborted with the pirating of our Government by a cretinous thug, in the person of The Chastanet Crime Family.

    I have been saying for several years, that Allen Chastanet is an ignorant white supremacist who because of his Pale pigmentation, has been able to deceive the masses of St. Lucians with the help of the other Honorary Whites like Blackface Pete Josie, Rick John Wayne, Mary Isaac and the other Sambo Negroes who are mentally ill, and lust after the pale so-called white woman as their standard of beauty. This inversion of reality is directly attributable to their worshiping of a naked Caucasian male as their God and Master – add Linus Clovis and Patrick Anthony to this scum.

    Allen Chastanet has embarked on importing Prostitution, Illegal drugs, Gambling, Murder, and all the crimes and sins associated with the Chinese Mafia who the Chastanet Crime Family has given total charge over the Southern shores of our country, while denying us any information about this Mafia Operation as he makes Secret plots with these criminals.

    Say goodbye to normalcy, and hope we have a place in the Windward Islands called St. Lucia when the Chastanet Crime Settler Family is finally expelled from this land by the awakening African Conscious Lucians. This ignorant thug who lies whenever he opens his mouth, is now attempting to silence and intimidate the journalist from even questioning him as he continues to lie .

    Here are some comments by Andre and Russel Lake:

    https://www.facebook.com/284538805083530/videos/539876896216385/

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  2. /

    The journalists of this country should not allow this arrogant thug Allen Chastanet to lie and allow him to go unchallenged to stop lying.

    Allen Chastanet is a pathological liar who told the news reporter Alison that the American Civil War was fought against England over Taxes, and that little ignorant thug was never held accountable for his bootleg ignorance.

    No country in the world would have elected such a Jackass like the functionally illiterate, Tee ABC dropout Allen Chastanet to be their leader. ONLY LUCIAN WHO BELIEVE GOD IS A WHITE MAN AND GOD HAS A MOTHER NAMED RAQUEL.

    I tried my best to warn you people about the fraudulent character known as The Chastanet Crime Family, but I became the object of the vitriol by the shameless Sambos admonishing me to pray to this naked Caucasian nailed to a lamp-post the miseducated think is their God and master, or the Old thug Chastanet would have the police TAKE ME OUT, like his Caucasian Christian brothers do to African Americans in the USA.

    The arrogant thug Allen Chastanet tells Allison the American Civil War was fought against England. How could Helen TV have allowed this ignorance by The Crime Family to go unchecked, and today this ignorant thug Allen Chastanet is demanding an apology from a reporter for questioning his pattern of LIES:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBM0gMRWgsE

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  3. //

    LOOK EVERYTHING THE CHASTANET CRIME FAMILY SAYS IN THE ABOVE VIDEO ARE LIES.

    THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF KENNY ANTHONY HAD LEGISLATED PAY CUTS? LIE LIE ! AMD MORE LIES.

    Call to mind that this little fraudster Allen was in a “COMPLO” with the other treacherous reptile Mary Isaac to sabotage the negotiations with Mr. Chester Hinkson who had tendered his good office to help the people of our island avert an economic disaster. Instead this criminal Allen who is known for stealing a hundred thousand dollars from my mother’s birthplace in Soufriere makes a grand charge about Kenny legislating a pay cut, by promising the treacherous Mary Isaac a government job if she made a bom with him. JUST SEE WHAT SATAN LOOKS LIKE WHEN TELLING THE TRUTH?

    CHASTANET LIES ABOUT EVERYTHING

    https://www.facebook.com/284538805083530/videos/539359762934765/

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  4. /

    Who in their right mind would have the insincerity of pretending to want what is best for our Black people and Country, then express such hateful actions towards our little Black Boys and girls teaching them that Number ONE, God is a Caucasian. TWO, peddle this Fraudster and Pathological Liar The Chastanet Crime Family as some kind of Son-of-Lucifer, and THREE, make an ugly White Supremacist our First Lady. RICK JOHN WAYNE?? BLACKFACE PETE JOSIE?? WHO !

    We have told you from the time we discoved the “COMPLO” plot with the unethical Mary Isaac to sell St. Lucia for a government job with this White supremacist Allen Chastanet, who was taught to see Black People as Savages by his Settler white supremacists parents, that Allen Chastanet is a FRAUD AND DUPLICITOUS CHARLATAN. However because of your mental illness from praying to dead Caucasian Images and Idols as your God and Masters you cannot see nor can you hear.

    SEE IF YOU NEGROES (products of white supremacy) can see and hear THIS.

    https://www.facebook.com/284538805083530/videos/543534059184002/

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