Couple devastated by Tavistock landslide in trepidation as Beryl looms
Published:Wednesday | July 3, 2024 | 12:10 AMKimone Francis/Senior Staff Reporter
A family in Jacks Hill in upper St Andrew says their situation has become “desperate” after local authorities failed to address damage to Tavistock Terrace following a major landslide that dumped metres-high mud on their property last November.
A section of the road collapsed after a developer began excavation that caused a water main to break, which saturated the earth beneath the thoroughfare. A second developer also caused damage to another section of the thoroughfare when similar land-clearing activities caused the hillside to come down after no retaining wall was built.
Tavistock Terrace runs above the backyard of the couple, who asked not to be identified.
They told The Gleaner that they have spent “millions of dollars” to refurbish a section of their property, clean up, and truck away debris, only to have the same thing happen three months later in February following another broken National Water Commission main.
With Hurricane Beryl expected to batter the island today bringing life-threatening conditions, the couple said they repeatedly reached out to the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation and the political directorate to have the matter addressed but they have not had any success.
“We’re pretty scared … . We’re helpless,” the woman told The Gleaner on Tuesday.
In a letter to Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) CEO Robert Hill six weeks ago, the couple noted that the “horrific” landslide caused extensive damage to their property.
“The mountain slide brought down huge volumes of the hillside, mud and debris into our backyard after collapsing the road and destroying our boundary fence. The deluge from the landslide engulfed our property creating extensive damage,” they said in the June 3 dispatch.
“The devastation was horrific and six months later, we are still removing piled-up mud and debris as well as [carry out] remedial repairs to an extensive area of the property,” they added.
The two told Hill that no intervention took place to protect their property line after the first collapse in November 2023 and after further damage in February.
They said for the past six months, they have made every direct and indirect effort to contact the agencies responsible for addressing the matter of the repairs to the damaged public land and the rebuilding of their boundary wall.
The couple said their numerous appeals have fallen on deaf ears.
“With the hurricane season ... starting, our home and backyard remain open and vulnerable to further landslides and even greater damage, which is a huge concern to us.
“[We] would be very appreciative and grateful if you could give attention and action to this matter and instigate the necessary processes that it will take to mobilise the start and completion of the repairs to this very precarious and dangerous area,” they added.
Hill responded the same day, indicating that the matter was at the forefront of the KSAMC’s priorities.
“I will confer with our chief engineer and revert to you soonest,” Hill said.
It has been radio silence since, the couple said.