Concerns for main road following landslide
Date Posted: 12/Jan/2010 04:47
By: Manx Radio
Residents of properties in Port St Mary High Street face an anxious wait this morning, as structural engineers assess the damage caused by last night's huge landslide.
Around 50 tonnes of earth was washed away, seriously threatening the foundations of the road, and leading to the evacuation of twelve homes.
The landslide happened under a shelter, immediately below the road.
Rushen MHK Juan Watterson says the area of Happy Valley above Chapel Beach is unrecognisable, but there are even bigger concerns (play audio file):
The occupants of the affected properties were offered emergency accommodation in a 'refuge area' set up in the nearby Town Hall, but in the event all the people who were told to leave their homes spent the night with family and friends.
A section of the High Street, also known as Bay View Road, is closed to traffic this morning, with all bus services, including those for schools in the south of the Island, terminating at Scoill Phurt le Moirrey.
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