Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Khadijah Ameen is cautioning residents of Piparo and members of the public in general to refrain from visiting the mud volcano in the area.
The Piparo community awoke on Christmas Eve to the sounds of increased activity from the mud volcano. Residents say homes, roads in the community, and electricity poles have been compromised due to land movement from the activity.
Minister Ameen said several agencies, including the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management, the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, and the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Service, are monitoring the situation.
“From my discussions with our representatives on the ground, the residents do have relatives they prefer to go by if they have to evacuate, but if need be, we do have the Piparo Community Centre that will be activated as a shelter in case residents need it. I know people are very curious, and they would want to go to the site to visit. We advise that you don’t do that because additional traffic could mean issues if we have a worsening situation.”
Minister Ameen further stated that there will be traffic restrictions, as the main vent has caused damage to one of the access roads leading into the community.
“As a precautionary measure, we are putting some traffic restrictions in place. So traffic will be restricted from Piparo Road and diverted through Hussaini Trace. You also have Thomas Ross Road from the Princes Town side as well as through Piparo Road from Tabaquite. So our municipal police officers are on the ground together with TTPS to ensure that motorists stay away from the roads that are being affected with the cracks and so on.”