FACING flooding fears, and unhappy with a response from Ministry of Works employees, residents in Ibis Gardens, Caroni, took matters into their own hands on June 12 and packed sandbags to block a breach where the Caroni River burst its banks behind their village.

The quiet housing settlement, located off the Caroni South Bank Road, is among three communities along a four km stretch of road that borders the southern side of the Caroni River.

With rains leaving the river 20 feet above normal levels, the residents in the communities are calling on the government to take swift action to reinforce the river bank so they can sleep in peace when it rains.