PHOTOS: Heavy rainfall causes major infrastructure damage
Sections of the British Virgin Islands sustained major infrastructural damage from heavy rainfall that occurred in the territory over the last 24 hours.
The main island of Tortola seems to have been significantly affected, with major landslides in Brewer’s Bay and Sea Cows Bay causing obstructions in the roadways in those areas.
Large sections of roads on the main island have also been undermined by the excessive water, leaving asphalt debris scattered.
When BVI News roved sections of Tortola after the weather event, damage to both private and public infrastructure was observed. A perimeter wall surrounding an apartment complex in Greenland, East End, had collapsed where heavy rains had loosened the soil on which it was constructed.
The rains have also resulted in damage to utility poles in at least one section of Tortola and have uprooted a large tree in Road Town.
Clean-up efforts have already begun in major traffic areas for public safety. There are no known reports of injury at this time.
These latest heavy rains have come less than a week after the official start of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which is predicted to be above average, with forecasters predicting up to 23 named storms.
According to the DDM, the BVI experienced downpours that dumped several inches of rain on the territory.
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of the overnight rain damage are evidence of poor road and retaining wall construction.
The drainage systems are wholly inadequate to handle any significant rain fall. An hour or two of continuous rain turns the place into a raging river.
When retaining walls, and rocks are falling from hills, it’s just a matter of time God forbid before some of those houses on hills become uninhabitable or start crashing down.
The soil erosion occurring with these storms has been significant.
In light in all this infrastructural damage we are witnessing from these recent downpours, it is abundantly clear that beyond cleaning out blocked guts, this country needs to go further and put together a proper drainage system to be instituted throughout the island.
That plan should address drainage in all these areas prone to significant flooding. That system should be capable of collecting excess flood water and diverting it towards the ocean.
Such a plan will definitely cost millions, but in my view it’s a necessary expense this country is going to have to assume. We cannot continue as is. Something has to be done.
The worlds climate has become more extreme, and every where on this planet we are witnessing the result of climate change. We are just at the beginning of the hurricane season and already we are having extreme weather.
Only God knows what kind of weather we will experience when a hurricane draws near. If these flooding are any indication, we are in for a rough ride.
The Caribbean is forecasted to experience some of the hottest temperatures ever this summer. As such we can expect to experience more severe weather and more flooding. Not only that, most of us do not have air conditioning in our homes, and that heat can be a killer.
We have got to get proactive here. Thankfully, no one has lost their lives in these storms, and let’s hope that it remains that way. We can always rebuild.
Stay safe everyone.
Sounds like we need something to raise money for these repairs. How about another super-successful MUSIC FEST??
Of course, we’d have to get the Premier back from whatever “work trip” he’s on in order to make it happen.
Mother Nature reminding us that proper planning prevents poor performance when it comes to drainage.
Keep building roads and houses where your not supposed to and this will keep happening. There is no building standards in the bvi, build it how you want, who going to stop you??! Look how this that retaining wall was and unsecured. Look how poor all the buildings that blew away from irma were. At this point its not even surprising.