Bad weather causes major landslides in North East Tobago
Heavy rains on the north-eastern end of Tobago caused a major landslide Saturday evening, completely blocking off the Bloody Bay to Roxborough Link Road.
Speaking with Guardian Media yesterday, Tobago Emergency Management Agency director Allan Stewart said the passage of a tropical wave brought heavy rains to several parts of the island. Still, there were no reports of injuries, loss or damage to property or major floods in Tobago East. However, he said the Bloody Bay to Roxborough Link Road was impassable for a few hours due to major land slippage.
“As a result of the extended amount of rainfall we had yesterday (Saturday), the incessant rainfall would have created a situation where that area is more or less prone to slope failure in the main ridge so that trouble area had a huge landslide that came down with several trees in it,” Stewart told Guardian Media.
Stewart said after receiving the report, teams were immediately mobilised, and the blockage was removed overnight. However, he warned pedestrians and motorists who use the area to be vigilant, as another landslip could reoccur at any moment.
“This area is one where residue weather can cause a land slippage again in the same area, so authorities will continue to monitor it, and we will advise the public accordingly, but the road is passable at this stage. As a way of the quick response of the authorities, DIQE, the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service, the CERT team, they did a fantastic job between Saturday night and early Sunday morning.”
He said a team from the Division of Infrastructure Quarries and Environment also went back to the area “to pick up any residue that may have come down overnight.”
Stewart warned that while he suspected that the worst of the inclement weather had passed, the Meteorological Office advised that the island would still experience heavy showers throughout the evening into early this morning. He also commended various stakeholders for their “immediate reactions to the adverse weather warnings.”
There were no reports of major flooding or landslides on the western end of the island.
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