Mauritius: The Tiger That Purrs

24 February 2013
Weekly (Port Louis)
opinion

Wednesday's torrential rains which slammed into our island were a reality check. And it is a reality we have to stare in the face. It has highlighted just how ill-equipped and inadequate we are to cope with disaster - any type of disaster. So, they should be a wake-up call.

When the rainstorm started hurtling towards our island in the early hours of Wednesday morning, it would seem that our meteorological station did not see anything coming. If they did, the communication was terribly poor. So, we had to wait until 6am before the nation was told that children had to be kept home. Some were already in the vans on their way to school. Still forgivable, one might say, considering that, in the past, it was only when our kids were in school that they were told to find their way back home; an incident we still cringe over when we remember, as it had resulted in the death of two of our youth.

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