Flood Risk

A concerned citizen of Roseau told the Sun that he approached Government officials about eight months ago to get the Roseau River dredged before the next hurricane season.

He was apparently ignored because, as the photograph taken last week shows, the Roseau River bed is still quite high. After the trough on 24 December 2013 large boulders and stones accumulated in certain areas of the river especially along the wall near Pottersville.

Efforts at obtaining a comment on the situation from the Ministry of Public Works were unsuccessful. Both the Mayor of Roseau and the Office of Disaster Management referred the Sun to Minister Rayburn Blackmore's ministry. Another photograph, from the archives of the Sun, shows the impact of heavy rains on the Roseau River during the passage of Hurricane Dean in 2007. If the Roseau River is not cleared of boulders, the massive flooding of the Pottersville area likely.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has urged citizens to take proactive measures to avoid the high cost of rehabilitation after a storm.