By Kevon Browne
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): Following the Island-wide power outage and the Fort Tyson Rise landslide, both of which occurred on the same day, Thursday (November 12), Mr. Abdias Samuel, Chairman of National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) at its weekly COVID-19 briefing on November 18, provided an update on both situations.
Concerning the land slippage in Fort Tyson Rise Frigate Bay, Samuel indicated meetings will be held with the affected homeowners as it relates to the recovery process.
A meeting was held with the Fort Tyson Rise homeowners on Saturday, November 14. The slippage was ruled a natural disaster and the area was deemed unstable.
Wednesday (November 18), Samuel indicated that homeowners whose properties were deemed safe were allowed to return home.
As it relates to the “localized fire” at the Needmust Power Plant which caused the island-wide blackout on Saturday, November 14, Samuel commended the St. Kitts Electricity Company Limited (SKELEC) for restoring electricity to the island within the time it did.
According to the Corporate Communications Manager for SKELEC Patrice Harris the efforts to restore power to the island took some 75 employees of SKELEC over a 29 hour period working on 12-hour shifts.