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INTRODUCTION -

Barrackpore is a town in southern Trinidad. It is located southeast of San Fernando and falls
into the Penal Debe Regional Corporation. It covers approximately 20 square kilometres of
land. This area was chosen because it was prone to flooding for the past couple years.
Methodology
How:
 Decided on what area we were going to study for the SBA with the use of a map.
 Questioners were made specifically for farmers and residents pertaining to
flooding.
 The area that was chosen is Monkey Town in Barrackpore.
 During the data collection pictures of the problems in the area were taken.
 Observations of the area was made and noted.

When:
 On the 7/09/2017 and the 8/09/2017 the data was collected for the farmers and
the residents.

Where:
 The experiment/data collection took place in Monkey Town Barrackpore.
Aim
To investigate the causes and consequences of flooding in the area of Barrackpore.
Presentation Of Data
The causes of flooding in the area of Barrackpore:

 Soil Type- The soil type in the area of Barrackpore was found to be mostly
clay. The sedimentation method was used . Clay makes up 80% of the soil in
Barrackpore.(as shown in figure 1). Clay is a natural earthy material that is
plastic when wet consisting essentially of hydrated silicates of aluminium.

FIGURE 1

Pie Chart Showing Soil Type


Sand Silt Clay

10%

10%

80%
 Height Of Land- The area examined was found to consist mainly flat
land. It was surrounded by hills and caused the drainage to be extremely difficult
and it caused flooding as shown in picture 1.This was also seen from the
mapwork done. There was the absence of contour lines.

PICTURE 1:
 Increase In Settlement- This is seen through observation of the
landscape during data collection. 90% of the land is used for housing and
development, while the remainding 10% is used for agriculture as shown in
figure 2.

FIGURE 2

Use Of Land
Housing and Development 2nd Qtr

10%

90%
Consequences Of Flooding
20 residents and farmers were interviewed about how flooding affects them.

 Transportation- 92% of the residents in the area said that flooding


causes major transportation problems as shown in picture 2 and figure 3
respectively.
PICTURE 2

FIGURE 3

Pie Chart Showing Lack Of Transport During


Flooding
Major Problem Minor Problem

8%

92%
 Students Attendance- 90% of the residents said that flooding causes a
decrease in school attendance as shown in the figure 4 below.

FIGURE 4

Attendance
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr

10%

90%
 Diseases- 83% of the residents say that when flood occurs, they get very ill
due to the germ invested waters and the other 13% say that they are not affected
by the diseases in the flood as shown in figure 5 below.

FIGURE 5

Diseases
Affected Not Affected

14%

86%
 Loss Of Appliances- 95% of the residents interviewed said that
flooding affects their appliances while the remainder said that they are not
affected by it as shown in picture 3 below.

PICTURE 3
CONSEQUENCES OF FLOODING ON FARMERS
Capital- 80% of the farmers say that they are affected by flooding. Their crops and
livestock are killed by the floodwaters while the other 20% say that they are not as badly
affected as the other farmers as in figure 6 and picture 4 below.

FIGURE 6

Lost Of Capital Due To Flooding


$12,000

$10,000

$8,000

$6,000
Lost Of Capital

$4,000

$2,000

$0
Affected Not Affected

PICTURE 4
CONCLUSION
The factors which are responsible for the flooding in the area of Barrackpore are flat lands,
increase in settlement, soil type and drainage. Increase in settlement was accounted for 50%
of the land, 35% were for plantation and the 15% was for housing. The soil type of the area
contained 80% of clay as compared to none flooding areas. The small drains and river
channels cannot accommodate the large discharge of water due to lack of proper drainage,
hence the excess water flows out and floods the area.

The major cause of flooding in Barrackpore is due to the poor construction and lack of
maintenance of the drainage system. This problem can be reduced by constructing better
drainage, drenching rivers and tributaries in order to accommodate the large flow of water.

The consequences of flooding are diseases, damage to vehicle and lots of property. Farmers
experience problems because of the loss of crops and the price of market items goes up. They
lose approximately $3000.00 in crops in almost every flood they experience and they are not
compensated.

From doing this SBA I have seen problems both residents and farmers face. Even if
compensated, it days to restart normal living conditions. Farmers can never be fully
compensated for crops and livestock lost. It takes months before they can restart their
farming practices.

I believe that proper drains should be constructed to ease the problems of flooding. Existing
drains should be cleared of debri and in some areas larger drains should be built. Rivers
should be dredged and also cleared of solid waste material.
GEOGRAPHY FIELD STUDY
STRATEGY SHEET
CANDIDATE’S NAME: REGISTRATION NUMBER……………CLASS
GENERAL TOPIC OF INTEREST:

1. (a) POSSIBLE QUESTION TO BE INVESTIGATED:


(b) Location of Study Area:

STRATEGY
A. What is the Aim of your Study?

B. How will you obtain data?

C. Resources:

D. How do you intend to present the data and findings in your report ?

E. Analyse and Discuss Data:

ANTICIPATED CHALLENGES:

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:

Teacher’s Name …………………………………………. Teacher’s

Signature……………………….
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books

Bleasdell, S. G., Cheong, E, 8 Tan, K.S. (2008) CSEC New Integrated Geography. San
Fernando, Trinidad: Caribbean Educational Publishers.

Rahil, V.A. (2010). Complete Geography Course for CSEC La Romaine, Trinidad and
Tobago: Caribbean Educational Publishers.

Wilson, M. (2005). The Caribbean Environment: For CSEC Geography. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

Sites

https://www.google.tt/search?q=pictures+of+flooding+in+trinidad&dcr=0&tbm=isch&tbo=u
&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjYn6v_8d_YAhVxkeAKHWSpADkQsAQIJg&biw=1
366&bih=656

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