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Efforts on to stabilise menacing boulder at Forêt Noire |06 January 2015



The huge boulder which is threatening several families at Dan Gale, Forêt Noire following heavy rain over the past few days will be stabilised and not blasted, Minister Vincent Meriton has said.

The Minister for Community Development, Social Affairs and Sports said yesterday afternoon that a decision has been taken to stabilise the boulder and negotiations are underway with landowners in the vicinity so that their property could be used in the process.

The decision follows a crisis meeting yesterday morning of the national task force which Minister Meriton chairs.

Minister Meriton added that the Minister for Finance will be meeting the National Disaster Relief Fund as soon as possible to evaluate the cost of all the different newly recorded disaster cases needing funding, prioritise them and identify sources for funding.

He noted that so far some 80 disaster cases including those at Forêt Noire as well as from other districts have been recorded.

“The work awaiting us is really difficult and complex but it needs to be carried out as soon as possible,” Minister Meriton said.

Meanwhile a number of incidents caused by the heavy rainfall during the weekend have been referred to the concerned agencies to act upon while others have already been tackled.

Some will have to be done in steps as the rain subsides so as not to cause further damage as the soil is still unstable.

The Division of Risk and Disaster Management (DRDM) said that on Saturday January 3 it recorded 63 complaint calls of incidents, which included collapsed embankments, flooding, fallen boulders and trees, landslides and road blocks.

Most incidents occured in central Mahé such as Mont Fleuri, Forêt Noire and Plaisance, in addition to certain other areas of North Mahé.
Fifty-eight of those incidents have been referred to the concerned agencies to act upon while a good number have already been tackled.

Other agencies have also received complaint calls, for example the community development department, Public Utilities Corporation (PUC), the Seychelles Land Transport Agency (SLTA), among others.

On Sunday January 4 some 36 complaint calls of incidents were received by DRDM, which included seven cases of collapsed embankments, flooding, three cases of fallen boulders, three blocked drainage systems, one landslide and fallen trees on Mahé.

On Praslin the division received one call for blocked road and one submerged road complaint.
The information is still being gathered for Sunday for follow up of cases with different agencies.

Member of the National Assembly for Baie Ste Anne Praslin Natasha Esther pointed out that they are still monitoring the different areas affected by going back on site and assessing the extent of the damage as there are two private houses that were affected by landslides and a few roof leaks.

There have also been reported cases of flooding at Côte D’Or and Marie- Jeanne Estate, but Ms Esther confirmed that it was not a severe case.
“Our roads and drainage systems are still in good condition despite the floods and the heavy rainfall has subsided,” she said.

She also stated that many organisations were involved to ensure that everything ran smoothly, namely the SLTA, Environment, Ministry of Land Use and Housing, Emergency Brigade and DRDM.  
 
On La Digue, the district administrator stated that there were flooded areas. However, the flood lasted very shortly unlike past years. Lower plains were more affected than the coastal areas but despite this, there were no serious cases reported. There was a rock slide at one house but the house remains intact and the necessary precautions are being taken to prevent any damage.

 

 

 

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