(By Ernesto Cooke) – Heavy rains pounded the Caribbean island of St Vincent and the Grenadines on Thursday morning bringing traffic to a standstill.
From 2 am heavy showers and thunderstorms inundated the island causing flooding and landslides, as a trough system made its way through the Southern Caribbean
In the North of the island, mudflows/ lahars were visible in villages already affected by heavy ash fall from the eruption of La Soufriere, which became explosive on April 9th.
On the road outside the old airport, water was knee-high, which left many commuters stuck in traffic for hours in public transport and private cars.
At Richmond Hill, a few minutes away from the capital, a landslide turned the typically two-way traffic into a one.
In the capital, Kingstown, gutters were overflowing, while water in the earlier morning hours was reported to be knee-high.
The local Meteorological office in its 6 am bulletin said that residents could expect heavy showers and isolated thunderstorms.
Caribbean Weather Online reports rainy conditions over and around parts of Monserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica, StLucia, StVincent and The Grenadines, Grenada and Trinidad.
