00:00 According to the TNT meteorological service, Saturday's weather was caused by a low-level trough,
00:05 which affected both islands producing cloudy conditions, scattered and isolated showers accompanied by gusty winds.
00:12 The Met Office highlights that this does not signal the beginning of the rainy season,
00:16 which is usually declared after the passage of a tropical wave off the African coast
00:21 or rainfall action from the Intertropical Convergence Zone.
00:25 According to the head of the Disaster Management Unit of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Jerry David,
00:31 the adverse weather did cause some damage.
00:34 We received 21 reports so far, three reports of fallen trees, two across the roadways,
00:43 and one actually fell on a car, and 18 reports of course of blown off roofs,
00:52 either partially blown off or completely blown off.
00:57 In the Pinal Deba area, we also had reports out of Pinal Deba, not as extensive as in Separia.
01:11 Half of a roof and a galvanized sheeting from another roof were blown off in Pinal.
01:16 As I speak to you now, the Disaster Management Unit is on the field,
01:22 and we are distributing tarpaulins where necessary, and some people got their mattresses soaked,
01:30 so we are distributing mattresses also.
01:34 David tells us less than a month ago, he met with the council and administration of the Separia Borough Corporation
01:41 and offered on behalf of the local government ministry, hurricane straps and screws for the burgeses in that region who have problems with their roofing.
01:50 The ministry also offered to lend the corporation two screw guns to assist with the installation.
01:56 Since you made the offer, have you had any requests?
01:59 No, I haven't had any requests, and I suppose it's only when things like these happen,
02:06 people will act and respond to what we offer.
02:16 So, I would really like them to do that.
02:20 Areas in Pinal Deba, areas in Claxton Bay, I know that roofs are always being impacted by high winds.
02:28 There was also a fallen tree in Pinal, which was cleared by fire officials from the Munripo South Headquarters.
02:35 No sandbags were distributed up to 4pm.
02:38 The DMU says no reports of residential flooding were received across the country.
02:43 David is asking members of the public to refrain from sharing old videos
02:47 as it forces the DMU to utilize scarce resources to investigate these false claims.
02:53 Meanwhile, the DMU says they deployed an excavator in the woodland area
02:57 and works are being done over this weekend to clear the watercourses.
03:01 It would be sent to Pinal Deba on Monday to assist with similar works.
03:06 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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