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An aggressive cleaning operation got underway on Sunday to restore safe access along the roadways as Dominica was impacted by a Trough system which generated heavy rainfall resulting in flash flooding, drain and stream overtopping as well as landslides and fallen rocks.<\/p>\n
Acting Prime Minister Reginald Austrie made this announcement during an address to the nation on Sunday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on the advice from the Office of Disaster Management the Ministry of Public Works was able to activate the disaster plan in which they prepositioned equipment at strategic locations for quick action when deemed safe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said the ministry had been on the ground reporting where needed, to ensure that roads remained passable and because of those interventions, all major roadways were accessible.<\/p>\n
He indicated that according to reports from the Ministry of Public Works, while most waterways displayed significant water level rise, there were few cases of overtopping along the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn some cases equipment operators had to wait for the flooding to subside before intervening,\u201d Austrie stated.<\/p>\n
The acting prime minister said that while no reports of any major landslides had been been received at the time, isolated rock falls and washed material along the roads were major inhibitors to traffic.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Public Works had advised that it had responded in some way, to all reported incidents in its four districts, Austrie said.<\/p>\n
He revealed that in the Southern District, the main areas affected were the Sibouli Ravine in Pointe Michel which deposited silt and other debris on the highway while there were reports of flooding of the Pichelin crossing with heavy siltation.<\/p>\n
\u201cFallen rocks and minor landslides were also reported along the Pointe Michel to Soufriere main road, Loubiere, Castle Comfort and Ravine Cocque,\u201d Austrie stated.<\/p>\n
He said the only incident of major concern in the south was the washing away of the access road at Castle Comfort which he said would be temporarily restored today.<\/p>\n
In the western district, according to the acting prime minister, there were reports of flooding in St Joseph, Salisbury and Coulibistrie where a family had to be relocated and along the E.O Leblanc Highway, “there were pockets of rainfall and debris along the road surface.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the Northern District, there were reports of minor slides and rock falls in the Dos Dan area “with debris on the road surface in Hampstead due to flooding of the bypass.\u201d<\/p>\n
Austrie also said that a report from the Eastern District indicated that a tree had fallen in the Pont Cass\u00e9 area and tree logs were clogging the upstream end of Sari Sari and the Rosalie Bridge.<\/p>\n
And as more inclement weather threatens to affect the island on Tuesday and Wednesday, the acting PM’s plea to the public to remain on the alert for rising water and landslides retains its relevance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Officer of Disaster Management is reminding the public to remain alert and be cautious as they go about activities…,” he advised. \u201cAgain I would like to make a special plea to all Dominicans to stay safe, refrain from non-essential travel and follow the Covid-19 protocols.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An aggressive cleaning operation got underway on Sunday to restore safe access along the roadways as Dominica was impacted by a Trough system which generated heavy rainfall resulting in flash flooding, drain and stream overtopping as well as landslides and…","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":275411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[22,235,9,82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-275410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-homepage-carousel","category-news","category-weather"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n