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News of Storms and the Tristan Community's Response

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June Storm causes harbour damage

David Morley reports that a bad storm on the night of Friday 19th June 2010 resulted in damage to Calshot Harbour. Some sea wall blocks near the bait station at the island end of the western breakwater were washed onto the quay.  Some dolosse were also deposited on the quay.  Operation Zest did not strap these blocks in place as they did on the breakwater itself.  Thus we had a large gap in our sea defences.
Photographs taken by David Morley on Saturday 20th June show above ~ damaged vessels and debris on the harbour wall
Below ~ the gaping hole in the harbour's defences

 

There has been some damage to fishing vessels (and the cargo raft,which may have to go back to Cape Town for repair) and to Factory equipment (including power supplies and sea water pipes).

Repairs have since been made and the blocks are back in place.  Vessels have been moved and the quay tidied up.  So not too bad, but a reminder (if we needed it) of the impact of winter weather.  On Saturday we were getting 8-10 metre swells.

Late June Storm lashes Tristan Cunha
Widespread Damage ~ No-one Hurt
Report from Administrator David Morley

During the night of Saturday 28th June 2008 Tristan saw one of the biggest storms (if not the biggest)  since the May 2001 Hurricane. The weather deteriorated steadily throughout Saturday afternoon and by evening the wind (an East South Easterly) was blowing at over 60mph, with gusts at over 80mph.  It eased down after midnight and by Sunday afternoon there was calm again.

'It was our first serious storm since arriving on Tristan, and two things will stick in my mind. The first is that rain was extremely salty – evidence of plenty of seawater mixed into the torrential downpour.  The second was the extreme changes of air pressure indoors.  Our ears regularly popped as we sat out the storm.  It reminded us of a rapid aircraft descent.'

On Sunday 29th June at first light David drove around the Settlement on a damage assessment. He thought the community was lucky, as no-one was hurt, a few roofs were damaged (including David's home at The Residency) and there were some window breakages. The PWD storage warehouses have rather more daylight than before and there was minor damage to houses and Government buildings. But nothing too serious, although plenty of work to do to put things right.

Left : boarded up door to an island home after storm damage

 

Right : PWD Storage Warehouse damage

 

Far Right : Empty sea freight container lifted and blown over wall

The most striking result of the storm was the relocation of an empty sea freight container, blown over a wall into a field some 20 metres from its original location.

At the Patches two huts were destroyed, and there was a serious landslip on the cliff by the west road at the bypass. This has resulted in the road effectively moving uncomfortably closer to the edge of the island.

Right : A wooden container blown onto the approach path to the Administration Building.

Photos and report from David Morley 1st July 2008

Spring heralded by September snow falls

Claire Volkwyn has sent this early morning picture showing a dusting of spring snow at about 500 metres / 1500 feet above sea level on the upper slopes of cliffs backing the Settlement of Edinburgh. Two months into the 2007/8 fishing season summer seems a long way off as early risers (some fishing factory staff start at 6am) have an unusual white backcloth for their walk to work.

Mid-Summer 2007 Rainfall gets gulches flowing
Despite Tristan da Cunha's heavy rainfall (over 1600mm at sea level annually), the porous volcanic ash soils mean that most rainfall infiltrates the soil and flows as ground water to springs along the beaches (and in occasional steams on plains including the Big Watron east of The Settlement). The exceptions are areas of peat bog, especially on the lower base, which act as a sponge and release water slowly in streams, often flowing in narrow valleys known locally as 'gutters'.
During heavy rain, excess water runs off the surface and into gulches, often deep ravines on the mountain slopes. These normally dry, boulder-strewn valleys suddenly fill up with water and disgorge their loads over the edge of the cliffs as waterfalls or torrents. Occasionally these sound like a thunder storm as huge boulders (up to 20 tonnes in weight) are rolled over the cliffs by the force of the water, disgorging them onto the plains below.

This photograph taken on Tuesday 9th January by Janice Hentley shows the waterfall of Caves Gulch, and further east the cataracts of Plantation Gulch, as they disgorge their load of water, sand and stones to the outwash plain of Pigbite beyond the 1961 lava flow.
News of June Storm received from Chief Islander Anne Green
Was it this storm that drove the Oil Platform A Turtle onto the reef at Trypot on Tristan's South-East coast? - see Newsof PXXI
Roofing Repairs

Men repair storm damage to the Mechanical Building in the Settlement on Monday 5th June.
Sunday 4th June
Stormy again with high winds and heavy rain. Some small stones have washed down Hottentot Gulch again but you are still able to get past. Out west on the Patches Plain the floods have blocked the road going to the sheep pen and on the way out to the Bluff. Part of the fence has been torn down and a lot of gravel and mud has covered the grass plain.
Saturday 3rd June

The bulldozer beginning to clear the way for vehicles to be able to cross Hottentot Gulch after the storms of 2nd June

Friday 2nd June

Tristan suffered torrential rain and very heavy seas. Fishing boats are seen, right, being brought from their usual storage at the back of Calshot Harbour to the top of the cliff.

Photographs above left, left, & right were taken on Saturday 3rd June after the worst of the storm was over. These views illustrate Tristan's perennial problem of safe sea access, and the lucky break that the injured Bulgarian sailor could be evacuated to Camogli Hospital on 25th May during an otherwise stormy period when the harbour was closed on many days.

Settlement Area Storm Damage

Parts of the road next to the Prince Philip Hall and other Settlement roads are broken up by Friday's heavy rain, and Hottentot Gulch was in full spate and brought down thousands of tonnes of boulders and gravel, spilling down the sheer cliff slopes and across the Settlement Plain. The photograph, left, taken on Saturday 3rd June shows the debris blocking the main road westwards towards the Potato Patches - 'Tristan's M1'!

Main Road blocked by May storm

Tristan da Cunha's main road, connecting The Settlement to the Potato Patches was blocked by flood debris brought down Big Sandy Gulch by a thunderstorm on the night of 15th-16th May 2006. This photograph was taken by Postmaster Ian Lavarello looking towards the pass between Hillpiece and the mountain cliffs, known as 'The Valley'. Tristan's gulches are normally dry as rain infiltrates soil and sinks into the porous ash soils, but surface run-off occurs during heavy storms and can often cause sudden floods which carry debris including lava boulders which cascade down the sheer mountain slopes and spill out onto the plains. Repairing the Patches road is a frequent job for Tristan's workforce.

Repairs underway
Tristan's Transport Department were busy for several days removing debris from the main road, particularly at Hottentot Gulch and Big Sandy Gulch. Photographs below show work in progress on 18th May.

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This page first published June 2006