Good Friday Storm Floods Settlement
Good Friday Storm Disruption
Report and Photos from Tristan Administrator Sean Burns
It's been a busy Easter weekend for some in the Tristan Public Works Department (PWD). Over 90mm of rain fell on on Good Friday, 14th April 2017. Some said they hadn't seen so much rain in such a short period and during the Good Friday service we could hear rumbling coming from the back of the volcano as rocks and other material was being washed down the mountain.
Some houses suffered flooding, Big Watron was overflowing and the road to the Patches was completely washed out again with material from the landslide at Bugsby Hole Gulch. Hottentot Gulch was also washed out for the first time in many years. Robin Repetto's team was called out to unblock drains and help avoid further flooding and many were on hand to help to clear Big Watron to avoid houses flooding. In the diggers (in photo below) are Duncan Lavarello and Andrew Green, who, with Ian Lavarello, Wayne Swain and Matthew Green worked all of the afternoon of Saturday 15th to clear the road so that islanders could get to and from the Patches over the long weekend. Earlier in the day a priority was to off-load MV Geo-Searcher which made its maiden landing at Tristan.
The Administrator's Land-Rover parked on the east side of Hottentot Gulch at 13.14 GMT on 15th April.
Normally a graded incline allows a smooth transit of the gulch by road vehicles.
This crossing of a normally dry gulch bed is the only road access west of the village towards the Potato Patches.
Photo taken at 15.44 on 15th April showing two mechanical diggers driven by Duncan Lavarello and Andrew Green
working to remove rock debris brought down by Hottentot Gulch when in flood on 14th April.