Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Flood Prevention Works Begin

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

TEGUCIGALPA, Mar 5 2012 (IPS) - Japanese technicians have initiated works aimed at reducing the risk of flooding in four areas of the Honduran capital which are home to 8,000 people. Ricardo Álvarez, the mayor of Tegucigalpa, told Tierramérica that the goal of the works is to prevent water from saturating the soil in the neighborhoods of El Reparto, El Berrinche, San Pablo and La Reforma, where a geological fault has been detected. If activated, it could cause severe flooding during the rainy season.

The plan is to build channels to carry underground water to specially constructed wells, in order to prevent the saturation of the ground and subsequent landslides.

The works will be carried out over the course of 23 months are part of a 13-million-dollar agreement signed between the Municipality of Tegucigalpa and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).