The Piparo mud volcano, 24 years after last major eruption

FEBRUARY 23, 1997. That date may not ring any bells for the average person, but for residents of Piparo, the very mention of it brings back bad memories and trauma even 24 years later.

On that day, the Piparo mud volcano erupted, damaging several homes and vehicles and killing many animals. And while there were no human casualties, many still call the volcano a ticking time bomb, as there have been scares in more recent years.

Residents told Newsday while they have somewhat adapted to living near the site, there remains a certain level of fear. They also said that since the scare in 2019, when the volcano rumbled and caused further damages to houses, they have received no assistance.

FEBRUARY 23, 1997. That date may not ring any bells for the average person, but for residents of Piparo, the very mention of it brings back bad memories and trauma even 24 years later. Video by Narissa Fraser  https://t.co/Wd9SW0W93c pic.twitter.com/tUO7bjOvln

— T&T Newsday (@Newsday_TT) February 24, 2021

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Ex-police officer Gunnessram Harrilal, 63, has been living in Piparo since the 70s. But coincidentally, at the time of the eruption, he was temporarily living in Caroni, since he was assigned to the Central Division of the police service. But his parents were there.

“They said about a week before, they started hearing some rumbling and then the place started shaking. Then they said it had a lot of rain. And the moment that happened...it just exploded.”

He said he was building his own home behind his parents', but it was completely covered by mud and only the foundation remained.

“All my raw material, like steel and gravel and rock and thing – all (of) that was covered."

Asked how he feels about living there now, given the unpredictability of the volcano’s activity, he said, “I really don’t have no fear, you know. But the problem here is the wall that keeps cracking…We tried to plaster it but…

“Nobody ever came to help us. Never…Even when mattresses came, they were sent way up the road, but we never get anything. People came to visit and they say nothing wrong with the house.”

Harrilal’s home has several cracks in the walls and floor. And with random rumbling happening, he said it may be a waste of money to continually try fixing them on his own, as the house would just be damaged again.

Parvattie Suratt, 76, told Newsday she and her husband only moved there two years ago. Despite the threat, she said she is not worried. She said her time there has been okay thus far and they have not been affected in any way.

When Newsday visited the site of the volcano, there were remnants of flowers. Residents said this was from a prayer service on Monday night, which is done annually near or on the anniversary of the eruption.

But there was also some garbage, including beer bottles wrapped in napkins, and plastic bottles, among other things.

Occasional gas bubbles were also seen in the mud.

Newsday also spoke to a member of a family of seven who had been more severely affected.

In fact, his four-year-old daughter asks, “Volcano?” any time she hears a random noise at night.

Fedell Solomon said he has got so used to the spontaneous rumbling that it doesn’t scare him any more.

He too said no one has assisted the family since with repairs, material or anything at all.

“We have some support from the ODPM (Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management), because they regularly visit us. They come to see if the damage is progressing, how things are progressing…But support and assistance are two different things. And when it comes to government officials, no help.”

He added, “Government officials had visited once, but then they will try to bad-talk the Opposition. Then Opposition would visit and bad-talk the Government. Nobody wants to work together to assist us.

“There’s the cesspit line that we’ve run above ground now, because it keeps bursting. Even the WASA (Water and Sewerage Authority) line. Every week, WASA has to come and fix this because of movement (caused by the rumbling).”

Like Harrilal's, Solomon’s home has several major cracks on high and low walls and on the floor and even drains. One crack is so deep, he said “it’s like a downstairs area.”

He said a lot of people in the community live in fear but have not been offered anywhere to relocate to.

“This house was built about 33 years now. There was no volcano when this house was built. And when that eruption happened in 1997, we weren’t offered a place to go.”

He said the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) contacted him and said he could rent a home for $3,000 a month but it would not be a rent-to-own arrangement. He said that didn’t make sense.

“So I’m leaving this house here, debt-free, to go to pay this lump sum now and I won’t get anything after. When you get offered something like that, the mere reality is that you stay where you are.”

He said the volcano site has become a liming spot and that at “all hours of the night,” residents usually have to call the police when they see strange vehicles there for too long.

There are many warning signs at both possible entrances to the site, but residents said many people ignore those and end up driving up to the volcano and getting stuck, or walking and then having to ask residents for water to wash off their feet.

“ODPM and UWI (Seismic Research Centre) visit regularly and they come and check us as well if they have time,” he said.

He said residents are not asking for handouts, but some form of assistance would be appreciated.