The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Staff Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

HEAVY rain drenched New Providence yesterday, leaving some roads impassable while disrupting routines for many.

Significant flooding occurred in flood-prone locations, and widely shared videos depicted ominous scenes in South Beach and on East Bay Street.

In a summer defined by record heat, some people worked from home rather than face the torrential conditions.

Some with home-based rain gauges reported two to three inches of rain.

“At the airport, it was not as bad,” said Charvari Watson-Rahming, a meteorological officer at the Department of Meteorology, before the evening showers yesterday. “Where we are, there was about 1.5 inches, and that is usually measured over a six-hour period.”

“We have heard no reports of six inches of rain, but because we do have those isolated amounts of two or three inches, it would not be as far-fetched.”

Maximum rainfall is recorded within a 24-hour period.

“I know our record rainfall in a day for July would be 6.4 inches in a 24-hour period,” Ms Rahming said.

She noted that urban areas without proper drainage, places built on marshland, and low-lying areas near the coast are especially prone to flooding during prolonged rainfall events.