As much as five inches of rain fell in parts of the Virgin Islands Tuesday afternoon, tearing apart recently paved roads, flooding several businesses and the Elmore Stoutt High School, and even floating a few cars away from their parking spots in Road Town.
In the capital, the Department of Disaster Management measured 3.47 inches of rain on Tuesday and 3.91 inches in the 24 hours ending at 10 a.m. yesterday, DDM Director Jasen Penn told the Beacon yesterday morning.
“[The Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology] did indicate that there was the possibility of having an increase in rainfall within this May,” Mr. Penn said. “But this particular period has been very extreme.”
In anticipation of more rain yesterday, schools and several public agencies closed, and government warned residents to stay home if possible.
“We are closely coordinating our efforts with emergency services, local authorities, and other key government agencies to comprehensively assess the full impact of the flooding and implement all necessary measures to address the aftermath,” Communications and Works Minister Kye Rymer said in statement issued early yesterday morning. “Restoring critical infrastructure and services is our top priority.”
He also urged residents to exercise caution in anticipation of more heavy rainfall yesterday into today.
By around 10 a.m., Mr. Rymer was touring the damage himself with a team from his ministry. After climbing out of the brown water running through the ghut next to ESHS, he told the Beacon that the ghut and most other drainage pathways had not been blocked by debris before the storm thanks to the ongoing clearing regime carried out by the Public Works Department. But the sheer volume of water simply overwhelmed the ghuts, pipes and gutters in the area, he said.
Asked on how the roads fared across the territory, Mr. Rymer acknowledged some patching would be needed.
“You would see water flowing from the hillside — it would take up some of the asphalt,” the minister said. “We’ve been doing some patching and so forth. There was some damage as you’re seeing right here. We’re hoping to get all these things addressed.”
Overall, he said, clean-up and recovery efforts were proceeding quickly.
“I can’t speak for the persons that got flooded, and I empathise with those persons in the low-lying areas — those homes that were flooded and so forth — but I haven’t gotten an understanding of that flooding as yet,” he said.
He acknowledged that the rapidly rising waters also blocked roads on Tuesday afternoon, resulting in gridlock in Road Town as residents left work.
“But once we were able to get out there and get it clean, we got things done quite quickly, and I applaud the Public Works Department,” he said. “They worked up until about 10 last night trying to make the roadway safe and passable for persons going to their homes and so forth.”
The sister islands were also affected, he added.
“Virgin Gorda has seen some mudslides and some landslides today, and we’ll definitely assist where we can to make sure that the roadways are clear so that persons can traverse,” he said.
CXC tests
Besides closing schools and causing government offices to scale back services, the weather even gave students a break from CXC Exams scheduled yesterday. The Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sports, however, reassured students that the “CXC has ensured that accommodations will be made for candidates who had examinations scheduled for today.”
In another bulletin released 23 minutes later, the Ministry of Communications and Works advised Virgin Gorda residents to avoid the roadway between North Sound and The Valley.
“Limited to no travel is recommended along the affected roadway until an ‘all clear’ is given,” the bulletin stated. “If travel is absolutely necessary, extreme caution is advised when traversing the area.”
Also yesterday morning, the BVI Health Services Authority limited service at health clinics across all sister islands to emergencies. On Tortola, clinics in Cappoons Bay, East End, Long Look and Road Town closed yesterday, and the Community Mental Health Unit and dentistry services were prioritising emergencies as well.
Freeman Rogers contributed reporting to this story.