President Chandrikapersad Santokhi gave the green light for emergency action to be taken after having received a letter from Public Works Minister Riad Nurmohamed. The contractor who was selected on January 30th after a public call for tenders has been instructed to start with the pro-ject immediately. The Public Works minister has asked to declare the area a disaster area so that emergency services such as the National Coordination Center for Disaster Control (NCCR) can start lending a helping hand. The police have also been asked to provide assistance.