Pictures of several submerged locations on Saturday sparked some questions about St. Maarten’s preparedness to deal with such massive downpours. For example, traffic to and from the Cupecoy area was basically blocked for hours by cars that got stuck in the deepest part of the customary pool on Rhine Road at Mullet Bay, cutting off access to the French side through the Lowlands in the process.
But perhaps the biggest concern is the situation at Zagersgut. This area where floodgates were installed to alleviate Fresh Pond by allowing excess water to flow into Great Salt Pond was again flooded.
One must keep in mind that any runoff system could get overwhelmed if the sheer volume and intensity of precipitation surpass what it can reasonably handle. Flash- and street-flooding are therefore common occurrences around the globe.
In this case the level of Great Salt Pond had already been high, prompting authorities to start pumping water via Rolandus Canal into the sea on Saturday, but there was more heavy rainfall that same evening. The pond’s retention capacity has also been reduced significantly over the years by “filling-in” land for construction, while the – never completed – ring road probably also played a role.
It is not clear whether that is the main reason the floodgates could not provide the relief they are supposed to, causing the Fresh Pond bank to overflow. Fact remains that use was not made of the option to open the channel in the sand across Great Bay Beach and let water out in this way.
In general, it involves an important aspect of enhancing the island’s resistance to inclement weather caused by tropical disturbances and the worsening impact of climate change. Using still-unspent means from what is – after all – called the Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience Trust Fund sponsored by the Netherlands for this purpose would seem to make a world of sense in that regard.
