PEARLISHKA BURRUN
The worsening of the climatic conditions in our island has its roots far back in the past and these adverse conditions have been largely dealt with by historians, climatologists and other observers. We quote two historians below to this end.
The scourge of climatic changes
In a recent article, we referred to the climatic catastrophes endured by the Dutch during their settlement in Mauritius, particularly under the governorship of Roelof Deodati (1692-1703). The last Dutch governor, Adriaan Momber Van Der Velde (1703-1710), was as much, if not more, unfortunate as/than his predecessor Deodati in so far as natural catastrophes were concerned. “During his command the climatological and health conditions on Mauritius grew worse than ever. Cyclones, floods, droughts, and epidemics proved catastrophic to agriculture.”(1)
It is also essential to keep in mind that “climate changes or natural catastrophes can…reduce the number of plants or animal species.”(2) Historical sources tend to prove that the remains of the dodos excavated in Mare aux Songes in the 19th century by the schoolmaster George Clark, had been carried out and deposited there after a destructive flood.
Flash floods at the beginning
of the new millennium
However, floods and flash floods are not happenings exclusive to the colonial period in Mauritius. After independence floods did affect the island after the passage of cyclones such as Gervaise in 1975 and lately tropical cyclone Batsirai bringing heavy downpours which flooded and damaged several kilometres of roads. By the way it is known that the island experienced several flash floods since the beginning of the new millennium – in 2008, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019 and the most recent this year.
In 2008, four citizens died in Mon Goût including a 13 year-old child due to torrential rainfall. In February 2016, Fond du sac experienced a torrential rainfall where 192 households were affected during the flood. A year later, in May 2017 at Poste de Flacq several houses were inundated and many people had to be displaced. However, the worst one which hit the island occurred on 30 March, 2013, after torrential rainfall reaching over 100 mm of rain lasted non-stop for twelve hours. In few hours of raining Port Louis had 150 mm of rain water accumulated where at least eleven people died, among whom eight drowned in an underground car park.
The March 2013 flash flood
not the deadliest in history
Following the March 2013 tragedy, a national day of mourning was observed. Hundreds of people were homeless, roads impassable, residential areas flooded with rain water, but also sewage, which was likely to cause problems with drinking water cleanliness. Rescue teams were working hard to find missing people and those stranded or in difficulty. However, the March 2013 flash flood was not the deadliest in world history, let alone Mauritian history. In Mauritius, the flash flood which caused the more deaths so far occurred in February 1865: the floods drowned thirty people and caused much damage. 
In world history, the deadliest flash flood occurred on August 11, 1979 in the town of Morbi in the Indian state of Gujarat when “the four-kilometre long dam (Machhu Dam-II) on the Machhu river in Gujarat collapsed leading to a deluge in the industrial city of Morbi located five kilometres downstream and the surrounding rural areas that destroyed thousands of homes and lives.” (Wikipedia).
Series of flash floods not yet over
Unfortunately, flash floods once again plagued the island on 17 February 2019 and this year. The flash flood in 2019, with 90 minutes nonstop rainfall, hit several localities of Port Louis district – Terre-Rouge, Vallée-des-Prêtres, Bell-Village, Pailles, Vallée-Pitot, Ste-Croix, Plaine-Verte, Route Militaire, Cité Martial, Canal Dayot, Cité Vallijee, Pointe-aux-Sables…Yet, the government had heavily invested in the construction of drains from January 2015 to January 2019. As a matter of fact, Rs 842,6 millions were invested during that period. To no avail. It appears that the drains were unable to contain the volume of rainwater that rushed throughout the town so much so that the National Emergency Operations Command (NEOC) reported no less than 60 interventions of the fire-brigade.
In April this year torrential rains (flash floods) were again in the news, and even if they did not worry the peak of 375 mm of rain recorded in Riche-en-Eau in 12 hours on April 16, 2021, they watered the whole island, with several regions finding themselves with more than 100 mm of rain (such as Mon-Bois, St-Félix, Wooton and Mare-aux-Vacoas in the range of 200 to 250 mm since Friday April 1st ), prompting the Vacoas weather station to extend until the morning of April 3 the warning of torrential rains in force since the day before.
The recent flashflood hit the south, in particular the village of Plaine-Magnien. As a result, several houses and courtyards in various places in Plaine-Magnien were flooded, damaging furniture, electronic apparatus and causing the death of barnyard birds. The inhabitants were quick to identify the potential source of the problem – it appears that the construction of the DBM industrial park on ‘wetlands’ which have been filled in, causing the accumulated water from the recent rains (being unable to make its way, the channel being blocked with the filling of the swampy area) to flow in yards and flooding homes, and subsequently the Grand Port District Council, which granted the building permit, issued a Stop Order prohibiting further work.
Prevention is always better than cure
We may well heed the observations of Dr Vasant Jugoo about the vulnerability of our island insofar as natural disasters are concerned. “Mauritius is considered to be the 7th most exposed country to natural disasters out of 171 countries and ranked 19th in terms of risk because of the state of preparedness of the country. On the other hand, the recent summer outlook has observed that the frequency of extreme weather and climate events has increased in the Southwest Indian Ocean.” To mitigate such tragedy (unavoidable due to climate change and greenhouse gas) in our island a number of simple rules to be strictly observed – not to build on wetlands; not to obstruct natural outlets; not to throw rubbish in watercourses, etc. Above all, people must become eco-friendly.
1) Moree J. « A Concise history of Dutch Mauritius, 1598-1710 »
2) Piat Denis. « On the Spice Route, Mauritius 1598-1810 »