Los Iros farmers salvage crops after severe land slippage

SEVEN years after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake led to massive destruction and the loss of 25 acres of crops, Los Iros farmers at Royal Engineer Road have faced devastation once again.

Recent and sudden land slippage in the area has now caused approximately 62 acres of damage and at least 50 acres of crops have been affected. The cracks are larger, the range of damage is wider, and residents, farmers and geologists say it is the worst they have ever seen there.

The land slippage began between 3am and 5am on June 27. Two days later, Minister in the Agriculture Ministry Saddam Hosein and La Brea MP Clyde Elder went to assess the damage.

On July 1, a Sunday Newsday team visited the quiet, southern community to look at the extent of the destruction and disruption of rural farming life.

In addition to huge chunks of the roadway and farmlands being cut off or cracked up, there was also some infrastructural damage on farming sheds.

A few people still made it past all the hurdles, carefully jumping in some areas, to make their way to the Los Iros mud volcano further ahead. When Newsday tried to speak to them, they said they were not from the area and had no comment. But they were sure to warn the crew, “The road completely split further ahead so be careful. It real bad.”

Some workers from the Siparia Borough Corporation were also there but were not authorised to speak to the media.

Farmers: Compensate and relocate

Los Iros Hill View Farmers Association president Reshinand Ramraj told Newsday each day he went back since it happened, the land moved even more.

“And there was no earthquake (that caused it) this time."

He said only three farmers got compensated in 2018. At that time, he recalled, geologists said they “could go ahead and farm.” But he said a geologist recently visited and told farmers: It is no longer safe and it does not make sense to try to invest in fixing this amount of damage, especially as it is prone to land slippage.

“So now that means farmers need to get compensated and relocated,” Ramraj said.

“I do a lot of land preparation there for many farmers. And to me, I wouldn’t feel safe continuing to work in that place. It’s not stable and you could very well fall into one of the holes from the cracks.”

He said during the ministry’s walkabout, officials gave assurance that once assessments are done, compensation would be discussed.

He said farming is a "huge investment," so not everyone may be open to relocation.

And so, not everyone may be open to relocation without compensation.

“It would be reasonable that if we get compensated, at some point in the start, at least the ministry can give us an incentive, give us a sort of loan or something…”

Farmer Nobby Mathura agreed that the destruction this time was worse. He said in 2018, farmers lost around $200,000 worth of crops, but this time it has surpassed $300,000.

“The amount of money I had to spend back in the land with no assistance from the previous government…We fixed up the whole place.”

He, too, does land preparation and said he also lost farming equipment.

“Some of my attachments are still missing because a lot of things fell within the deep cracks and it is not even safe for me to try to look for them.”

He said farmers were still trying to salvage what they could, but because of the condition of the access roads, “We have to tote it on we back…

“We are gathering our crops and we have to walk out a mile and more with them.”

Asked if he is ever scared venturing back and forth given the continuous movement, he said, “We taking we chances. We don’t have a choice because the authorities are taking really long to get back to us and we still have to try to make money. This is what we know to do. We know to farm and to plant garden, so we still have to try to earn.”

He said he is “more than open” to being relocated because he agrees it is not safe.

“I willing to take that and I am pleading with the authorities to get some assistance to us. I understand everything has a process but we need help soon.”

Another farmer, who preferred not to be named, said while his crops were not affected, the damage was the worst he has seen.

“And the land like it still moving."

Mixed views from residents on fear

Resident Rojgel Phillips told Newsday he was beginning to get worried as the slippage “keeps going further,” but others did not share this view. He lives a few minutes away from the affected area. He said when he heard about it, he went to see for himself.

“And it is way, way, way worse than 2018. I have never seen anything like it.”

He explained that his doors at home would not usually close easily as it “would get stuck in the frame because it’s high.

“After the incident, they closing smooth like butter. No issues. And that has never happened before.”

Asked for his thoughts on moving should the damage reach closer, he said, “If push comes to shove and that's what it has to come to, I will.”

Another man, who did not want to be named, said the damage “could happen anywhere along this road.”

But he believes the land slippage this time is due to the mud volcano, not heavy rainfall.

“Last time, it had just cracked up but this time, the road is moving up more.”

He said there were a few cracks on the walls at his home.

Another resident said he does not believe the affected roads and land can be fixed.

“I think it is better for the farmers to relocate because it going to happen every time. It happened in 2018, it happened now…”

But he added that he thinks land grabbing had a part to play in it.

“Everybody want more land. So some people dug outside of the boundaries and they kept cutting and cutting…and now everything mashing up.”

However, he said he will not move, regardless of the extent of the damage.

“I am not afraid of anything so I will stay right here.”

Two other men said they have nowhere else to go should the damage reach as far as their homes.

“And I doubt the government would fix back that road because this is the second time and now it real bad. It’s better they relocate the farmers,” one said.

But he added, “These fellas digging big, big ponds in the back there that causing problems too because they weakening the land.”

Experts investigating, assessing cause of Los Iros land slippage

Geoscientist and UWI professor Oshaine Blake told Newsday that from his initial observations at Los Iros, the activity is similar to what he has observed at the Piparo mud volcano.

“There are areas where there is subsidence and areas with upliftment. So it’s similar but to a much bigger extent."

However, he will not be making any concrete proclamations until all assessment is completed. This, he said, could take one-two months.

“There are a lot of theories on this event and theories are being made without data. I don’t want to speculate. I am driven by data and science, so I am going to do a thorough assessment. I will not give advice if I do not know what’s taking place.”

He said he has since organised a drone to capture footage in the area.

He also said that geoscientists have been seeking government funding for years to do further research into the monitoring of mud volcanoes.

“We’ve been (researching) that for the past eight years and if there was adequate funding, we could have known a lot more about this particular situation and we could have better advised sooner.”

In a phone interview on July 2, geologist Curtis Archie had said he planned to visit the area soon. But he said it was an old landslide that keeps reactivating.

“It happened before 2018 too but people did not take it on. It just happened more then.

“When I started going there for research, it was just bush, and over time, people started using it to farm.”

He initially did not think relocation would be necessary based on the images and videos he saw, but he told Newsday to speak with him again upon his visit.

He visited the area in the morning on July 4 and on the same day, updated Newsday saying the damage is "way worse than he thought.

“It extended significantly to areas where there was no impact before, and really, the bulk of the farmland has been affected. So due to the amount of slumping, I would definitely have to say it is unusable at this point in time and these farmers should probably be moved somewhere else where they won’t be losing their crops.”

He was walking to the mud volcano when Newsday called. When he got there, he said there was “minimal activity” as he just saw “a few bubbles of gas” being released from one of the vents.

“I flew my drone over what I thought was the extent of the damage in this area but it’s even beyond that. So when all is done, I will compile everything and do a 3D model.”

Dr Ilias Papadopoulos, an engineering seismologist at UWI’s Seismic Research Centre had initially thought it may have been owing to recent heavy rains. But now, “I don’t think it’s that because the citizens are saying there’s not much rainfall. So that’s not the driving force.”

He said he has not visited the area but, “What happens in Los Iros has nothing to do with volcanoes or earthquakes…

“The area in general is farmland that the government allocated to some individuals, but there are some areas which were meant to remain empty lots that people squatted on. And now, you are having a lot of landslides as a result of it.”

He said the 2018 earthquake happened since “the system matured to a point for that to happen.

“And it released pressure. So the landslide is a natural process and the area is on a cycle…Whatever happens today will happen again in five-seven years. This is something we can actually cannot stop.”

However, he said it is not his place to advise farmers on what to do, regarding relocation.

Newsday asked Hosein and Agriculture Minister Ravi Ratiram for an update but no response was immediately provided.