Community-based landslide risk reduction Castries Basin, St Lucia, West Indies EC$1,300,000

Installation of inexpensive 'TellTales' that measure crack width in structures can be of great assistance to the Community in general and individual residents, in indicating the likely severity of such displacements.

Measurements of this form can be taken by the individual resident and provide a key 'hands on' method of conveying information relating to construction methods, slope hydrological conditions and the importance of distinguishing between cyclic and progressive crack displacements.

On 19 April, 2005 the Prime Minister of St Lucia, THE HONOURABLE DR. KENNY D. ANTHONY announced a landslide risk reduction programme in the 2005/6 Budget Statement:

‘At the invitation of the Government, the Mossaic Team , have designed a programme of low-cost, community based, slope drainage improvements to reduce the risk of land slides. Such a low cost, community intervention programme will provide an offset to the potentially large Government costs that could be encountered if relocation of communities were necessary due to landslide occurrence. Black Mallet is a stark reminder.

The Mossaic Team identified and prioritized five communities within the Castries Basin requiring low cost, landslide risk reduction measures. ……

Essentially, the programme will entail the provisioning of guttering, down pipes, and water tanks to individual households. In some instances, the programme will involve the construction of household drains as well as feeder and main drains.’

[Government of St Lucia 2005/6 Budget statement]

The community areas identified by Government have visible landslide activity. A slide in 2005 in the Trou Rouge Community of Castries involved the relocation of residents. It is precisely to offset such relocation costs that the current programme of landslide risk reduction is being undertaken.

This programme started with Community meetings being held to ensure that all relevant drainage and risk issues were captured and that there was full community involvement from the commencement of the project.. High unplanned housing density means that a major programme of surface water control is required, especially given the fact that such houses have metered water supply but no adequate drainage provision. The completed programme for 5 communities involved the construction of major intercept and other smaller block drains in locations determined in accordance with the MoSSaiC mapping and modelling methodology