A tragic reminder

26.SEPT.08

The tragic death of a Vincentian woman, crushed when a massive retaining wall came tumbling down at Ratho Mill last Friday, serves as a cruel reminder to us all how vulnerable we are to natural disasters, as well as to rudely sound the warning that, where the hurricane season is concerned, we are not out of the proverbial woods as yet. This message was reinforced by the other reports of landslide and flood damage from throughout the mainland.{{more}}

Even as we offer our condolences to the husband, daughter and other relatives of the deceased, it would be remiss of us if we did not take advantage of the heightened awareness aroused by this accident to focus our attention on some critical issues. We tend to be a people whose attention span lasts only as long as periods of crisis, so what better time is there to pound home the lessons than now?

First of all, we need to undertake a critical review of our state of disaster preparedness and risk management. Since the establishment of the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO), we have come a very long way, a fact that is all too quickly lost any time we perceive weaknesses in our emergency management. But it is fair to say that we still have some way to go. Some discussion has apparently begun via the airwaves on this subject. It is critical that we manage it wisely and soberly, seeking to add value rather than personal or institutional bashing or indeed taking the dreadful road of political partisanship. Too much of our failure in disaster preparedness and relief has been affected by partisan politics in the past for us to choose that route.

A second issue has to do with the state and upkeep of our drainage systems. Our natural topography is a boon in that it makes for easier run off of water than in countries with flatter tracts of land. While we count our lucky stars for that, there is much that we could do to mitigate the most harmful effects of our continuing assault on nature. We are simply too negligent in this regard, as individuals, as institutions and as government.

The construction sector, our engineers in particular, are no doubt discussing amongst themselves not only how the accident happened, but why, and, most importantly, what can be done in the future to minimize such occurrences. The issues of the building code, the role of the Physical Planning Department in regulating, monitoring and enforcement will no doubt be all part of this debate. It must not be a closed shop. If there is one area where our society is weak is in the leadership given by our professionals of every discipline in such national debates. We need their input to help to guide us in the appropriate formulation of policies and procedures.

Also, we as citizens must also come under scrutiny. Our determination to do as we please is leading to a society of chaos. We disregard regulations, abuse officials, insist on having our own way, show insensitivity to our neighbours’ complaints about run off water, but when the crunch comes, it is not the violator, but the Government or someone else who often picks up the tab.

The officials have promised a thorough investigation into what happened last week Friday at Ratho Mill. We hope that this is indeed done, that the findings are made public and that action is taken based on the findings. Maybe now is as good a time as any to remind the nation that six years ago, on September 11, 2002, to be exact, after heavy rains, a retaining wall in Barrouallie fell on a house, resulting in the death of a two-month old baby. At that time, commentators called for government and us as a society to look closely at all retaining walls, culverts and bridges, and for a commitment from all concerned to take action to make sure incidents like that were reduced to a minimum. In fact, one View Point commentator on We FM on September 18, 2002, speaking on the Barrouallie incident, said with what now seems to be eerie foresight: “I also believe that this is a good time to take a good long hard look at the retaining wall currently being constructed in Ratho Mill to determine what possible safety hazard it poses to the public.”

Please, let us do what we can to ensure that no family will go through this sort of pain again.