‘Brewers Bay, the forgotten city’- Residents
Brewers Bay, a hilly village located on the north side of Tortola, suffered substantial damage due to the heavy rains. This included beach erosion, blocked and undermined roads, fallen trees, damages to the entrance to homes and businesses, and overflowed ghuts.
Residents are claiming Public Works Department (PWD) has been slow in the cleanup efforts and has also been slow in the repair and restoration, even as a temporary measure, of many areas in Brewers Bay that were damaged.
One resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, told our news centre that “it seems like Brewers Bay is the forgotten city.”
PWD Director Jeremy W. Hodge told our newsroom, "There are works that need to be carried out across the territory following TS Philippe. Coordination of these efforts is happening and further works on the ground will happen in the coming days. We are currently capturing what needs to be addressed."
CoI Report a burden?
Following Topical Storm (TS) Philippe, it is our understanding that there were both Public Works Department personnel and private vendors doing the clean-ups, but under the new rules following the UK-sponsored Commission of Inquiry Report and the Procurement Act, it is unclear if private vendors assigned to different districts can still act in an emergency.
One private vendor told our news site, “When my district representative called me and asked me to call PWD to work on the clean-up after the storm, I was told I had to give them a quote… how can you give a quote in an emergency?” the vendor, who is not a resident of the Second District, asked.
Residents in Brewers Bay noted that roads are bad and dangerous and they alleged there are no traffic cones placed on the roads to warn pedestrians and motorists alike about the damages and dangers.
With at least two ghuts dumping water on the beach, this has resulted in all the materials from the ghut water (rocks, trees, garbage, old unused items) being deposited on the beach.
Following the heavy rainfalls caused by TS Philippe, some residents in Brewers Bay were blocked due to fallen trees, and a high-water mark in ghuts overflowing their banks and had to wait for PWD in order to get out of their homes.
Meanwhile, efforts to reach Second District Representative Hon Melvin M. Turnbull for comments were unsuccessful.
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35 Responses to “‘Brewers Bay, the forgotten city’- Residents”
The Guts were not cleared so the debris caught up around the bridge blocked the flow which then took out the road.
The other carpark also washed away at the end of the camp site.
He orchestrated more than you did even though he was halfway around the world.
tourism product and should be treated it that way. Like it or not. I am now wondering if the Director and his board of BVI tourist visited this area.
Every representative has their positives and negatives. For this particular event, the representative should be commended for mobilizing the necessary resources to at the minimum clear pathways in the case an emergency arised. If that wasn’t done some roads or driveways would have obstructed up to now.
Brewers Bay is a popular weekend beach, a component of our tourism product and beautiful bay so I hope all the relevant powers that be can assist in rectifying the major issues that are beyond community service. It needs to be a priority as the tourist season is quickly approaching. Safety for residents and visitors.
The entire territory needs to be safe and cleaned.
You just can't make this stuff up. You wonder why the people suffering?