Murray’s Village hit by massive landslide

Residents of Murray’s Village are thankful that no major damage was done to their homes after a landslide blocked roads and homes in a disaster{{more}} that residents said reminded them of the flash floods which took place in the Georgetown area in April.

The landslide occurred on Tuesday, August 2, 2011. SEARCHLIGHT visited the site on Wednesday, August 3, as men were clearing blocked drains, and tractors removing debris from the area.

Reynold Gurley, a resident of the area, who was busy clearing the mud and sludge from a drain said, “It was terrible…mud after mud was just floating and blocked up the road.”

He added that there were also boulders that blocked the roads. Gurley said it was the first time, he had experienced such a disaster, stating that it reminded him of the disaster which struck Georgetown occurred earlier this year.

Relating her experience, another resident Joyce Ashton said that at about 9:30 am, when she went to her living room door, she saw mud flowing down the street right in front of her house. Ashton said that she asked a neighbour about the mud. He told her it was flowing from somewhere up the street.

Ashton said after a while, she heard a rumbling noise like thunder, then saw a river of mud with stones and debris rushing coming down into the street and mud forcing though the gate of her home. Calling out to her daughter-in-law who was at home, Ashton said that she ran to the gate, and with a broom pushed the mud back out as it oozed through the gate.

Ashton said that she managed to call the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) after the situation got worse and stones and debris began to flow down into her street.

She added that afterwards, residents came together and started to clean up the mud from the area. Ashton is thankful that her home was not destroyed or affected in anyway. She did add, however, that it took lots of work to get her garage, which was filled with mud, cleaned. Her dogs, too, she said with a laugh, also had to be washed, as they too were filled with mud.

She added that residents of the area also played a great part in helping to clean the mud and debris, as almost everyone came together, putting aside whatever differences they had, in an effort to clean up the streets.

Gurley also agreed that a lot of work was needed to clean the area. “Men, women, boy and child, everybody contributed and did their part,” he said.

Sergeant Charles Adams, Head of the Search and Rescue Team in the Fire Department told SEARCHLIGHT that a team of five persons was on hand on Tuesday clearing the debris from the Murray’s Village area. Adams stated that the team journeyed to Murray’s Village after receiving a call; at that time they were assisting in the clearing of roads at Stubbs and Mesopotamia.

Adams said that upon arrival, the team saw stones and boulders brought downhill by the landslide, blocking the roads. He added that they immediately mobilized persons to clean up the area. He added that they also employed Fire Tenders, using the water to wash the debris further downhill and off the roads.