Floods in Curaçao, damage to Jandino Asporaat national park

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NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 11:05

In Curaçao, heavy rainfall during the night of May 3 to 4 led to flooding. Due to the rainwater, many dams have broken and the water has a free path, write local media. This has led to a lot of damage, especially in Bándabou, the western part of Curaçao.

Yesterday morning, the Curaçao Meteorological Service, the island’s weather service, issued a code orange due to thunderstorms. Prime Minister Pisas yesterday called several parties together for an emergency meeting about the damage caused by the heavy rain.

Several people sent images of flooding to our correspondent Dick Drayer:

First images of floods in Curaçao

Hofi Mango National Park, a nature park set up by comedian Jandino Asporaat and his brother, has been flooded due to a dam breach. The park manager and his family were evacuated just in time, Asporaat writes on Instagram.

“We sympathize with all the victims of Bándabou and hope that this disaster will be limited to this enormous material damage and will not cause any human casualties.”

According to Asporaat, the flooding is due to poor maintenance of the dams on the island. “If the necessary measures are not taken around us that are important for the infrastructure and safety of the area, it is literally a matter of mopping with the tap open.”

‘Problem postponed’

Asporaat has also been in contact with the prime minister of the island. “I spoke to Prime Minister Pisas about the seriousness of the situation and said that we are ready to support and take action,” he said on Instagram.

“The problem has been postponed for decades. Not tackling it will now be fatal to us. Let us now join forces and solve it once and for all.”

He has now announced that he is on his way to Curaçao “to assist people and assess the damage”. “It doesn’t look good, but God is great and it’s going to be okay anyway,” he said in a video message. Asporaat has canceled some shows.