Several roads in Port-au-Prince in the capital were clogged with tons of debris on Monday after a torrential rain fell upon the metropolitan area on Sunday evening.
At Martin Luther King Jr Avenue, between Natcomand La Pléiade bookstore, traffic was nearly impossible.
“All my life, this is the first time that I see this area flooded to this point,” said a local resident. Technicians from the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications were on the job early Monday in Canapé-Vert.
“We will then go to Bourdon where there has been a landslide as well as other areas,” said Minister of Public Works Joacéus Nader in an interview on Magik9. The ministry doesn’t have the tools and materials needed to unclog the streets.
“I found only one loader in the ministry. I am in the process of carrying out diligence in order to have others, “said Nader, deploring the fact that two loaders were burned down without providing too many details. Nader said that two other loaders are being repaired at Haytrack.
“We are trying to do everything to recover them,” said the minister. According to the former coordinator of the Service for the Maintenance of Urban and Rural Equipment (SEEUR), he does not lack the will or the strength. “But we can’t afford it,” he continued.
Nader said there should be at least 10 to 15 loaders in Port-au-Prince alone.
President Jovenel Moïse had authorized the acquisition of several tractors as part of the Caravan of Change. “These tractors are there. They have been distributed in several departments of the country, “said the Minister of Public Works, who stressed that it is not recommended to move this type of equipment from one department to another. “It is not recommended to move this equipment more than one kilometer. This can cause serious accidents, “said the minister. Each zone should have its own equipment, Nader said. Continue reading.