‘2004 DIDN’T FINISH FAST ENOUGH’

For some villagers of East Tobago, the year 2005 still holds a great degree of uncertainty but, almost two months after being hit by November’s mudslides and floods, they are nevertheless, trying to pick up the pieces of their lives and boldly march into the future. In November, several hours of persistent rainfall resulted in a deluge that left two dead, several homeless and considerable agricultural and structural losses. Newsday visited the affected areas yesterday and found that there were still a few minor traces of the devastation as a result of the stalwart efforts of the employees of the THA Infrastructure Division and CEPEP workers. Roads had been cleared of debris and landslides, proper drainage systems installed and several retaining walls have gone up to prevent further slips. The displaced have since been “put up” at various guest houses, hotels, rented apartments or by relatives and friends and have tried to regain some sort of semblance of normalcy to their lives.

However, it will take a lot more doing by the residents of the village of Delaford, known to the older folks as Dallas, where the deaths of Keston “Kesie” Mc Millan and Kathy Ann Ferguson occurred and even more so for the people of the King’s Bay area who have not yet been officially informed that they will have to relocate. NEMA has informed Newsday that the official report had been handed over to Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Orville London. Tobago NEMA Coordinator, Owen Sandy, said that they had not yet received word on the status of the report, that they (THA Executive Council) were still studying it to determine which way “we will go from here.” When Newsday visited the once lively area, which boasts the popular King’s Bay beach and the King’s Bay waterfall, it resembled a ghost town. Unconfirmed speculations are that the King’s Bay dam overflowed and caused the flood.

The fowls, dogs, cats and even birds have all seemed to vanish into thin air. All that is left of the close-knit “community” are pieces of clothing, children’s schoolbooks, toys and cooking utensils lying in the debris surrounding the remnants of the houses. There are wide, clear paths beginning on the mountain tops caused by the rush of falling trees. High piles of mud appear to be dry but sink beneath the feet as water still trickles into the yards from somewhere over the hills. The THA Infrastructure and CEPEP employees have done a considerable job, but to the eye unfamiliar with the way it was immediately after the disaster, it would seem as if nothing had been touched. An estimated time frame could not be placed on how long it would take before the area is totally cleared. “The entire area has been declared a dead zone,” Sandy said. “All the houses will have to be demolished, removed and slopes replanted with fresh vegetation. We will have to clean up the entire slope and insert what we call trek dams to slow down the velocity of the water. We will also have to incorporate debris management measures into the slope stabilisation system.”

He said that the residents would be compensated for their losses following assessments. However, because of bureaucracy, such as the research of property deeds, it would be some time before this actually takes effect. “We are aware that we will not be able to live here any longer but we are still unsure of where we will live,” one resident told Newsday. “Presently the THA has placed us at various locations and is assisting us financially until they have relocated us but I think that we are all really worried that these plans may change after the upcoming elections.” According to the resident, that threat of broken promises is their major concern since they will be practically left out in the cold.

“With the elections so close, this could not have come at a worse time. I hope they don’t play politics with our lives,” she said. Not so according to Sandy, who believes that whether or not there is a change of the THA Executive Council, the NEMA technical team’s report will still have to be considered and the residents taken care of. “Some people may think that this year has finished rather quickly but for us it couldn’t have finished faster,” the resident reflected.