[UPDATED] EMBD’s landslip warning to Claxton Bay residents: Get out or else

Several families affected by a major landslip in Claxton Bay have been warned that with the onset of the rainy season, they must leave their properties for their safety as the land continues to move.

The Estate Management and Business Development Company Ltd (EMBD) wrote to affected residents of Diamond Road on Monday.

“They want us to leave and go where? I have nowhere else to go,” said 62-year-old Giles Garcia.

“I already let them (government officials) know that I paid taxes for 45 years. If the Government gives me back all my taxes, I will fix my business. Now it is time for me to relax in my old age. I am still asking the Government—out of decency, do something for us, please.”

Garcia lost his home with all its contents on September 15 last year when the landslip caused his three-bedroom concrete house to sink and slide downhill about 200 feet from its original location. It happened before daybreak. The retiree, who worked in the oil and gas sector, his wife and her two adult children managed to get to safety and alerted neighbours.

Five other families comprising about 14 people are directly affected as their homes are on the brink of collapse.

The area is outside the boundary of the Coco Road quarry which is owned by EMBD.

Garcia said three other families each got a letter.

The letter, titled “Urgent relocation,” was signed by EMBD’s CEO Judy Beepath-Ramjohn.

Garcia has not received a letter yet, owing to “an error” from what he was told.

In front of the ruins of his home on Tuesday, Garcia said: “This is the first correspondence residents got from EMBD since September 15. I find it was very oppressive of them to do that.”

He recalled that Social Development and Family Services Minister Donna Cox, during a visit, on September 19, offered affected residents rental-assistance grants for three months “in the first instance.”

“She told me it is for three months at $2,500 (monthly), and the ministry can extend it to six months. I applied in November for it. Last month I got a cheque for two months.

“I rented for six months, and my rent is $2,400, which is under the amount. I am still waiting (for more cheques to pay the landlord).”

Garcia recalled speaking directly to then Housing and Urban Development minister Pennelope Beckles on Old Year’s night.

She asked for the information which he gave. To date, he said, he was still waiting for feedback.

Garcia said he tried following up with her by calling her Arima constituency office. A staffer, who he identified by name, allegedly told him he has to wait because there was a “long line” of people with housing issues.

The letters given out on Monday and Tuesday said EMBD’s investigation into the September 15 landslip recently revealed further movement of the land is projected for later this year, considering the expected rain in the upcoming wet season.

The letter said: “The consequence of further movement is that the structural integrity and habitability of a few properties is highly likely to be adversely affected, with your property being identified as one such property.”

It said investigations suggest a real and substantial risk that their properties will be altogether destroyed in the event of a further landslip. It added that given the nature and magnitude of the existing landslip, remedial work to the slope is not practical and cannot be done safely.

Even if the work could be undertaken, it could not be done in the short term, and “certainly not before the rainy season.”

The EMBD said it was writing to ensure people living in these properties remain safe.

It said continued occupation of the property is unsafe, so it recommended, as a matter of urgency, that all residents relocate “to avoid serious injury or loss of life.”

The EMBD emphasised that the notification was not an admission of liability for the landslip or any related issues.

It also added that if residents chose to remain in their houses, which it strongly advised against, “You shall do so at risk to your safety.”

Another affected resident, Nardera Ramsaran-Williams, got her letter on Tuesday.

Since September, she, her husband and their two children, 15 and 20, cleared out their home, fearful the house could come crashing down anytime.

They still stay in the house and sleep in their two cars.

“We are still uncomfortable living in this condition with no electricity and running water. It is really, really frustrating now. Where are we to go without assistance from the government?” Ramsaran-Williams asked.

“Since this happened, this is the first letter they (EMBD) came to give us. Nobody from EMBD ever came to ask if we have this or that, or how we are making out. Nothing like that ever happened.

Like Ramsaran-Williams, Marva Fritz, 67, cleared her home in September but lives on the compound. Fritz lives with her daughter and son-in-law. She spends time with her sister, who lives next door, and other relatives.

“My house is falling apart. We still live in it because we have nowhere to go. Nobody (in authority) is asking us anything whatsoever. The phone keeps ringing, and nobody is answering when we call them,” Fritz said.

“They give us this (letter) and tell us to move. Move to go where? I would like somebody out there to listen and do something for us, please.”

The land to the back of their houses has already collapsed.

Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee also joined the affected residents to highlight their plight.

He accused the EMBD’s CEO of being responsible. He also called on the government to help the families.

Lee called for a meeting with Beepath-Ramjohn, on behalf of his constituents, as well as Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs Stuart Young, and Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Kazim Hosein.

This letter talks about relocation. I do not know if EMBD has the authority to ask individuals to relocate. To relocate means that they have declared here a disaster zone. And if they declare here as a disaster zone, then they have to take care of these families, which we have been saying from day one,” Lee said.

The families have been very tolerant since September, he said.

He called on Beckles, who is now the Minister of Planning, and new Housing Minister Camille Robinson-Regis to intervene.

Lee added that Young said an investigation was launched into the incident.

“What became on that report?

“We (he and residents) are calling for that report to be made public. If EMBD has to take responsibility for their insurance, let them take responsibility on behalf of these families. It is about seven families that will be getting letters from what I have been told.”

Calls to EMBD as well as to several ministries and ministers went unanswered.

This story was originally published with the title "EMBD tells Claxton Bay residents affected by major landslip: Get out, land still moving" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

Seven months after a major landslip destroyed one house and displaced several families in Claxton Bay, the Estate Management and Business Development Company Ltd (EMBD) wrote to affected residents on Monday.

The letter, titled "Urgent relocation," was signed by EMBD’s CEO Judy Beepath-Ramjohn.

It said the company's investigation into the September 15 landslip at Diamond Road recently revealed further movement of the landslip is projected for later this year, considering the expected rain in the upcoming wet season.

Marva Fritz, whose house is on the brink of collapse, got her letter and other affected residents were expected to get similar letters on Tuesday.

The letter said: "The consequence of further movement is that the structural integrity and habitability of a few properties is highly likely to be adversely affected, with your property being identified as one such property."

It said investigations suggest a real and substantial risk that her property will be altogether destroyed in the event of a further landslip. It added that given the nature and magnitude of the existing landslip, remedial work to the slope isnot practical, and cannot be done safely.

Even if the work could be undertaken, it could not be done in the short term and certainly not before the rainy season.

The EMMBD said it was writing because of this situation and to ensure people living in these properties remain safe.

It said continued occupation of the property is unsafe, so it recommended as a matter of urgency that all residents relocate "to avoid serious injury or loss of life."

The EMBD emphasised that the notification was not an admission of liability for the landslip or any related issues.

It also added that is residents chose to remain in their houses, which it strongly advised against, "You shall do so at risk to your safety."

When the massive landslip rocked the community, Giles Garcia and his family lost their entire property and had to rush to safety before daybreak.