SUDDEN and extensive land movement has fissured the site of the Los Iros mud volcano in South Trinidad over the past few days, leaving acres of farmland and agricultural access roads damaged and cracked.

Between late Thursday evening and yesterday morning, the movement began, tearing down agricultural camps and bursting ponds dug by farmers in the area.

Dramatic land movement at Los Iros in Palo Seco which resulted in roads, farmer’s crops and storage houses being damaged in the vicinity of the Los Iros mud volcano. photo: Edward Moodie

The routes frequented by dozens of farmers during the peak agricultural season were damaged and impassable as a result.

The nearby shoreline has been thrust up in some areas by as much as 20 feet (six metres), environmental activist Edward Moodie told the Sunday Express.

He said the movement was likely directly linked to volcanic activity along the faultline, which he said ran across Trinidad, from Piparo, straight to the ocean in Los Iros.

By yesterday evening, he said, the cracks that covered much of the land had continued to widen while water from ruptured ponds streamed underneath.

‘In some areas, you are seeing a drop and in other areas, it is going upwards. I went down to the beach area in the back and there are about 400 feet by 12 feet on the shoreline that has been pushed up in the air.

‘The land movement is continuing but not as dramatic as it was overnight. A number of ponds burst because the movement is happening underground,’ he said.

In 2018, an earthquake damaged the same area, causing landslides, cracking, road breakage and swallowing of the equipment of farmers in the area.

Moodie said in this case, breakage and movement were emanating straight from the sites of the volcano’s bubbling vents.

He said structures such as packing houses, where farmers store their crops, had been broken apart. The only alternative route available to those whose crops are not damaged was a road that required some repair, he said.

‘The bridge there is damaged, but I think that is the fastest fix at this time. We are talking about 30 farmers and ten actively planting and producing at this moment,’ he added.

Farmers estimate thousands lost

Speaking with the Sunday Express, residents said the damage incurred had reached a disastrous level.

Sunil Balsingh, 49, who inherited acres of land from his elderly father, and had been planting crops in the area for much of his life, said he believes he has lost thousands in melongene (baigan) he had planted on his land.

‘Half of my land is mashed up, the pond is mashed up; I had baigan planted and mashed up. Today, it was still moving. The road is so bad, nothing can go on it. Some people’s agricultural houses went down.

‘The last administration made the volcano an attraction; to get out here is a disaster because it is a couple hundred feet of road mashed up. It is a real disaster. It is still opening and the place is still shaking,’ he said.

‘I have been around there for 40 years, and it is happening more regularly now. It is a real thing that happened. It is hundreds of acres of land, people have two to five acres each. Different people come from all Penal, like me, to make a living down here and it is really sad,’ he added.

Balsingh said he had unplanted nurseries at his home which had also cost money.

An Upthrust of land along the shoreline of Los Iros in Palo seco, where land movement has been observed in the vicinity of its mud volcano. Photo: Edward Moodie.

‘It is thousands of dollars and very hard work. One of the pieces of land is nearly four acres that was affected really badly. My brother’s land split from the roadside, it went down a couple feet, eight to ten feet mashed up. It keeps pulling,’ he said.

Nearby, one farmer who said his land had not been as severely impacted as others said the damage appeared to be worse than had been seen in 2018.

‘My brother’s land is damagedhe does watermelon, and it was completely damaged. The road is impassable; in my section I had a road that I did and it was damaged, but I think my van may be able to cross over some of it.

‘The road has dropped maybe one to two feet in some areas. In 2018, there was an earthquake and it was felt, but the damage that happened yesterday seems to be more than what happened then,’ he said.

The Sunday Express contacted Minister of Agriculture Ravi Ratiram for a comment yesterday, but no immediate response was received.