Fear is sweeping through the village of Piparo this morning as the mud volcano shows heightened activity, with loud rumbling and mud and gases spewing into the air.
Residents said some homes are cracking, and a portion of the road is already impassable.
Fidel Solomon, who lives very close to the site, said the situation is worsening by the hour. He said it is worse than the major eruption a few years ago when his home was split. He has already begun packing his belongings, bracing for the possibility of evacuation.
“It’s like twice as much as last time. The concrete burst open, the tiles start to crack, the galvanize start to raise up, the ground start to open up the road start to crack up. Right now, the road impassible on one side. Right now, I trying to move out my things because our house getting the worst damage…It run through our house. Basically, everything collapsing now. T&TEC line burst,” he said.
Solomon said an hour and a half later they were still waiting for an emergency service to respond.
Councillor for Piparo, San Pedro and Tabaquite, Henry Awong, said a team from the Disaster Management Unit of the Couva, Tabaquite and Talparo Regional Corporation was on its way to the site.
Based on what he has heard from residents, Awong said the situation appears serious and he would be visiting the area sometime today. He said people are scared not only for their property but for their lives.
However, Awong said there have been multiple incidents over the years and each time there is panic and concern, but then life returns to normal. He said authorities should ensure residents are relocated permanently.
“Every time this thing acts up is then everybody gets busy etc. People now start to talk about people need to relocate and that is happening for years.”
He said some residents were previously against relocation.
“When it is acting up, they ready to go, after that they don’t want to go and then the agency with responsibility would ease off as well. I think it is time we have some kind of compulsory evaluation in terms of moving those people that are on the hotline,” he said.
The Piparo mud volcano has a violent history. On February 22, 1997, it erupted, spewing mud and debris 200 feet into the air and covering an area of 2.5 square kilometres. More than 300 people were evacuated, 31 families were displaced, extensive damage was done to properties and vehicles, and pets and livestock were killed.
