The St Thomas Parish Disaster Committee and the relevant agencies will be meeting today to determine the best way to assist more than 250 residents who have been placed in shelters.

Almost 40 of the designated shelters in the eastern parish were home to the residents who were affected by the passage of Tropical Storm Gustav.

Up to late last night, more than 10 roofs had been blown off structures across the parish, in the communities of Prospect and Bath.

Mayor Hanis Brown said those at the meeting would also discuss the clearing of more than 10 major roadways which were blocked in the parish, due to landslide and flooding.

Brown said that, hopefully, those in shelters had walked with supplies as the authorities might be unable to reach them for 48 to 72 hours.

Drain cleaning work

The storm has affected three months of drain cleaning work in the parish. The council spent more than $17 million since June to clean the drains.

"The way forward is to convene a meeting to ascertain an assessment and address restoration with regards to assisting our residents," said Brown.

The council will also be working to clear major roadways which were blocked by landslides. The National Works Agency is working with 10 contractors to clean the drains and blocked roads.

Meanwhile, the parish authori-ties were keeping a close watch on the Roselle main road that was damaged during the passage of Hurricane Dean last year, and was severely cut off by tides during Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

Deloris Bowen of Spring Pass, who sought refuge at the Yallahs Primary School, was distraught as last year her home was flooded out during Dean.

"This time, before the rain came heavily, my bedroom was soaked as my roof was leaking," said Bowen.

Meanwhile, many students were sent home. Cardovan Jackson, principal of Paul Bogle High, is asking grade 11 students to register on Monday, after the storm caused the day's procedure to be postponed.

The recently opened Yallahs Bridge remained open to traffic.