Geological, environmental and other forms of testing are under way at Los Iros to determine the exact nature of disturbances in the area, including shifting land and escaping gases.
That is the word from Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Ravi Ratiram, when he, along with a number of officials from the Ministry and civil society, met with area farmers, residents, and homeowners over the weekend.
He said, “Testing took place this morning, and we are happy that the gas is not above the environmental permissible levels. So it is safe where that is concerned. However, with respect to the soil movements, we are not certain whether the movement has come to an end or it is still an active site. So until we can be secure that there is no further risk associated, it is something that we have to monitor, and we have to do a thorough assessment of.”
Minister Ratiram noted that he and officials in the Ministry would remain in contact with the farmers in the area.
“The Ministry of Agriculture is here to provide that support, whether it is compensation, whether it is compassion support. At the end of the day we cannot allow our farmers to feel isolated and to feel abandoned.”
Meanwhile, a representative from the Sustainable Climate Resilience Initiative, Edward Moodie, said in addition to geologists, there is a team working on a vulnerability and capacity assessment to determine the risks.
“This piece of land here, which is a hundred and six acres impacted, it is the largest earth movement in Trinidad so far, the largest. So we have to take it from that perspective. What is happening, it is now slipping off from that plane and it going, because of the gradient, toward the sea, pressure, gravity. It is pulling down. When it hits the shoreline, the pressure exerted downwards is pushing the layers from underneath back up, and at this time it reach about 30 feet on the shoreline.”
Mr. Moodie promised to share all the information that is gathered with the Ministry of Agriculture and all the other relevant authorities.