tapijo

Second holiday forcer for all primary, secondary and tertiary institutions. 18 primary schools will remain closed tomorrow, Friday 19th September 2008, as a result of heavy torrential rains prevailing on the island. More than 200 mm rainfall have been collected and most of our reservoirs are at least 83% full, except for Midlands and Piton du Milieu which are 100% full.

Flooding is expected to occur and as a result of heavy saturation of the ground. Already houses near to rivers and areas where there are no proper drainage systems are victims of flooding and water entering their homes. The North and East and South are mostly affected. Now landslides are threatening areas between GRSE and Beau Champ. Police are warning road users to be careful in these regions.

As to 1945hrs, the country is still under torrential rain warning and it will be tomorrow when parents will be informed whether school will resume. For horse racing lovers, the event will probably be postponed to Sunday. The track is not practicable.

Brrr!!! It’s freezing… The meteorological station forecasts that the temperature can get as low as 8 deg in the centre of the island. Winter has started two weeks earlier and El nina is no stranger.  It has started to get dark at five in the afternoon. Thought it was half past six.  Very hard to wake up.  And it showers occasionally usually late in the afternoon.

Mauritius is perhaps one of the rarest country where each time a major decision is made, a section of the population has to whine. The case of the flash flood in March demonstrates the fact. On Wednesday, when the meteorological station issued flash flood and electric storms warnings and the decision to close schools  earlier, here again the decision has been criticized widely. Why do we have to close schools when it is raining heavily? - one would comment.  I’m sure if schools did not  release students back home, reGokhool saga again. Forecasts have been glim during the weekend.Indeed it should be raining till Wednesday but with lower intensity. On Monday morning, it was shining. Where are the showers foreacasts have predicted? It then rained heavily by the time it was afternoon for at least 2 hours and by the end of the afternoon, it stopped. The radio broadcast there would be a temporal calm and mention was made that all our reservoirs are full. Mare aux Vacoas is at 80% of its capacity. More news on the 1930hrs hopefully.

While watching the news recently, the speakerine mentioned that the main reservoir of the island is only 60% of its capacity, while at this period of time, it should be around 84%. When interviewed, the chairman of the CWA commented that we did not receive enough rain to fill in the main reservoir. That is all bullshit!! How could we not receive enough rain when there were floods in certain places of the island?  In the meantime, some regions of the upper Plaine Wilhems are facing water cuts. When will Mauritius not face water shortages when paradoxically we are surrounded by water? Could we sustain the targeted 3 million tourists with our actual water network and other public networks? Talks are beautiful but concerted actions between the various ministries are better.

Wet Wednesday! Not soaked but my office would be stinking tomorrow. This happens when there is heavy rainfalls and water would sneak into the walls and the rest is history.

Early afternoon, the meteorological station issued a torrential rain warning, which implied that schools were requested to let their students go home. Same goes for  tertiary sector. Public sector employees were invited to leave before 1600 hrs so as to avoid the usual bottlenecks. At some point in time, there was a rumour in the office that buses would cease to operate at 1500 hrs but i guess this was only an excuse for early leaving.

When i was about to leave at 1630hrs, a colleague told me to take a look at GRNW river. He said that he had never witnessed the spectacle before. So when going over the bridge, i just glanced over. The sight was indeed breathtaking. The river had over flooded its bed and the millions of tons of mud water were rampaging the metallic structure of the bridge. On its pavement, people were gathering trying to take a look at the level of the river. Needless to say the couple of habitats which were built near the bed were completely devastated. Hoping that the 1930 news would diffuse this event, i went on my way and was later disillusioned. But nonetheless, there were other places where river beds had been over flooded and tons of liters of mud waters either obstructed roads or carried lives and even claimed them as had been the case of a 13 year old student whose body had been later found together with a 50 year old woman.

Ex-Lola did bring us plenty of water but paradoxically the main reservoir is still 70% full, while others are near full. There was even an article in the morning press in which a hydrological expert stated that there were signs of water leakages on the walls of the reservoir.The 1930 news interview of the minister of public utilities denied such allegations and had condemned such misleading reporting.

Weather forecast for the evening and tomorrow: rays for the north and west, but still bad news for the east, south and central plateau. But weather is expected to become fairer as ex lola continue to leave our region.

As you are all aware, according to the CWA, Mauritius is facing acute water shortages. The same organism predicts that the actual water levels in our reservoirs will last for two months at most, should no rain falls. There was an incident lately concerning water supply in the region of Roche Bois whereby inhabitants did not receive water supply for four consecutive days. They expressed their discontent by blocking the trunk road. The CWA reached a compromise that during the festive period, they would receive full supply and thereafter, the cut programme would be in place.

Heat and plenty of sunshine are predictions for the new year,and hopefully plenty of rain. Cockroaches are messing around lately. Does that pre-sign heavy rainfalls?  Since morning there have been spells of showers but insufficient to fill the reservoirs. They are very shy lately. El Nino?

Brrrr!! Feeling cold right now. Winds are howling outside and it seems that winter is in full fledged. Has to put on some pullover over t shirt. And to close the windows and sipped a hot cup of coffee over a nice movie. But what to watch??? No new movies on the local channels. So better go to bed and fer la grasse matinee tomorrow. Pirates of the Caribbeans 3 reached our shores last wkend and was aired in theatre. “La cite interdite” was also on projection along with the secret of Terabithia. Think will try to get hold of the latter.

Ok better get dodo. A long day awaits me tomorrow..

We have seen and heard so much lately about Piton de la Fournaise, which erupted for the nth time since two weeks. This latest eruption brought fear among the neighbours of the volcano. They were advised to leave their homes for shelter, as the lava flow inched dangerously to the residents’ home. The eruption ceased yesterday to again vomit ashes and lava today. The lava flow to the ocean has made visible fishes which were up to now unknown, probably due to the destruction of their habitats by the lava. The ashes and sulferous smoke from La fournaise during these last days had an impact on dodo land. Indeed, some parts of the island, especially the west and the central plateau received acidic rain. The impact on agriculture is not serious at first sight, but the rain will definitely impact on sugar cane yield.

Did not have much time lately. Since I took over the accounting functions, I can no longer chat nor check my mails during working hours. Moreever, the office i occupied smelt rotten fish aftermath Gamede. The side walls leaked and to make matters worse, the sun rays are very shy. I had to open the windows and humidity is very high. I had to bear the sounds of the motor vehicles roaming on the main road.

Today, it so happened that i saw the ressemblance between my boss and my ex-boss. When you admitted you made a mistake, he will at length take the role of a teacher. Oh my god!!! No need to mention the fact that he took a real pleasure to ‘teach’ you. I sometimes wonder whether this is some kind of predestined fate to meet such rare birds… Oh boy, guess that’s life. Like a roller coaster.

Gamede is approaching Mauritius and a cyclone warning class 3 is actually in force in Mauritius. According to forecast Gamede will come closest to Mauritius at 400 kms to the nord of the island should it maintain its trajectory. The class 2 warning was issued in the morning thus allowing students a forced holiday. The actual warning was issued on 1700 hours and the Mauritius Meteorological Station as well as the population are on alert.