by Mervin Matthew & Emmanuel H. Joseph,
Government Information Service
Residents of Layou witnessed first-hand the unpredictable and powerful forces of nature in the early hours of Thursday morning.
 Major portion of York Valley Bridge swept
away by flooding
Just a few minutes after midnight, after hours of persistent showers throughout Wednesday evening, there was a breach in the Mattieu Dam and a major section of rock which has been referred to by officials as a plug which once kept a large basin of water at bay came apart and with it millions of gallons of rushing water.
The raging water rushed from the heights of Layou blazing a trail of destruction to physical infrastructure and agricultural lands before emptying its contents into the sea.
The powerful force of the raging water destroyed a significant segment of the York Valley Bridge making travel through this part of the island impossible.
Further downstream, the raging waters completely destroyed the Chinese funded Hillsborough Horticultural Centre.
Hon. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and other members of Cabinet, met early Thursday morning with residents of the area who had gathered near the Layou Bridge under the watchful eyes of security personnel.
The prime minister said “there is a lot of personal loss to people and also a national and community loss in this area. We are waiting for the assessment to be done. We are waiting for things to be added up. Once they are added up, then we will make a determination as to the actual cost of it.”
Notwithstanding, Hon. Prime Minister Skerrit gave a brief overview of the preliminary damage that he saw. He indicated that there are far reaching consequences, economically, as a result of the damage done.
 Hon. Prime Minister,
Roosevelt Skerrit
“Clearly from reports and from seeing what has happened, it is a major disaster area. One appreciates the fact that this is a major tourism and agricultural zone. We have first of all, the Chinese Agricultural Technical Mission here. They have invested several millions of dollars on this far and it has been completely washed away. You have the farm of Mr. William Rolle who produces seedlings for sale to farmers across the country – that has gone completely. The Wacky Rollers have created employment for so many people in the Layou area, they have been adversely affected.
So looking at the future, you have to determine whether, where the Layou River was, for example, where Government has fifty-one percent (51%) of the shares there, in terms of the land, whether you can do anything in the future so far as hotel development is concerned in that area; that we would have to be advised on. You also have the damage to the roadway, to a major bridge: the bridge close to the hot water/glo cho area has been affected. You are talking about a very expansive bridge in terms of length. So our assessment is that if this bridge has to be replaced in totality, you are talking about at least a nine million dollar (XCD$9 000 000.00) bridge inclusive of river defence, walls and so forth.”
 Alphonso Eugene
Alphonso Eugene was one of those affected by Thursday morning’s disaster.
“I had some stones and sand ready to build and material out there and a truck that I had on my property. I had some bees, ten (10) beehives and the river took all of it. It left me with zero.”
Meantime, Hon. Parliamentary Representative for the St Joseph Constituency, Kelvar Darroux, spoke with GIS news.
“I can tell you that we came on the scene about 1 o’clock and police were already on the scene along with the Fire and Ambulance Services. There were a number of persons on the streets. Thankfully, we can report that no lives have been reported lost thus far and we are thankful to the Almighty Father for that.” |
