Delmas 31 Ravine Collapse

Everyone here at Coram Deo wishes everyone a happy, blessed Easter! For some people in our neighbourhood Easter was a very difficult day. We had a heavy rain last night  and the water running through the ravine undermined the retaining wall at the Church On The Rock on upper Delmas 31. The wall is about 20 ft. high and it collapsed during the storm. The wall blocked the circulation of water through the ravine and acted as a dam. The water rose and nearby houses were destroyed, swept away by the water rushing through the ravine. People fled for their lives. Some people were injured and one woman was killed under her collapsed house. Her body was removed this morning. All day people have been cleaning out flooded homes. The government or Red Cross is not aware of the situation. We told the people that they needed to remove part of the wall from the ravine or during the next rain storm which could be tonight flooding will occur again. One corner of the Church on the Rock church building is undermined and if more ground falls away the church itself could collapse. A container is supported on half of its foundation. The other half is gone. The container is in danger of sliding into the ravine which would make the situation even worse. Some of our students live in the ravine and thankfully none of their homes were destroyed and they weren't hurt. The people had no tools to remove the collapsed wall. A couple of the men came back to the house with us and picked up some sledgehammers, crowbar, bolt cutter to cut rebar and pickaxe. This afternoon they have been busy creating a channel for the next rain storm to follow. We sent over some of our rice meal packages and the women in the ravine are cooking for the men who are at work. Please keep the people who live in the ravine in prayer. Their lives are in danger because of the fallen rock wall. I am praying for no rain tonight so that people can clean up and remove rubble. Easter is a time for families to eat together and feast but for the ravine people it is a time of survival. I will try to post some photos tomorrow.