Sinkhole swallows tree but emergency officials say area safe

By Sheria Brathwaite

One Bush Hall Yard Gap, St Michael resident had to be relocated but others are safe where they are, officials said, after a section of the ground in that community collapsed on Monday, resulting in a large tamarind tree being sucked into the ground.

Residents said the incident occurred around 7:30 a.m. not far away from a popular liming spot.

Once first responders, including the Roving Response Team, police and fire officials arrived on the scene, the area was cordoned off the area while an assessment of the situation was conducted. One resident was also relocated.

“Just one property, which is to the west of the tree which went into the sinkhole, was damaged. One resident, a male, lived there and he was removed from the property and provision is being made for him to have accommodation elsewhere. No other residents within the area have been affected by the incident,” Deputy Chief Fire Officer Henderson Patrick told Barbados TODAY.

“However, there are persons who live adjacent to the incident who will spend the night in another area so they will not be affected by the work to remove the tree and the noise. No other properties in the area so far have shown any signs of effect from the collapse.”

Patrick said that after an assessment of the situation, it was determined the houses were safe.

“It was determined that the impact does not affect anywhere outside of that boundary. So the road was deemed to be safe. Hence, we had large vehicles operating without any stress to them,” he said after 5 p.m.

“The diameter of the sink area is somewhere in the region of about 30 feet or so, extending from the edge of the house, back to the edge of the gap.”

Earlier, dendrologist Nigel Jones, who is attached to the National Conservation Commission, said the tree was “resting on top of a fairly fragile cave” for a number of years.

He said he inspected the tree before the COVID-19 pandemic in Barbados and he was concerned about the stability of the tree.

“It was an accident, more or less, waiting to happen,” Jones said, telling the media that he had conducted an assessment of the tree prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and he “had some concerns”.

However, he said, because of the restriction of movement during that time, action could not be taken.

“There are a lot of parameters here that told us why the tree should be removed and we could not deal with it because of COVID at the time, and then it was forgotten,” Jones said.

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb