Following the torrential downpour of December 2023, part of the St. Louis hill was identified by local and international geological experts as a high-risk area requiring stabilisation to prevent future landslides and rockfalls. The project site is identifiable by the visible scar on St. Louis Hill overlooking Serret Road.
Last year, in search for a sustainable long-term solution to mitigate the damage caused by the landslides and rockfalls, the Government of Seychelles reached out to a private Swiss Company with extensive geological expertise in hill stabilisation. During the Swiss geologist team visits to Seychelles, several sites in need of stabilisation were identified and new techniques were introduced to local stakeholders. The new technique which has a life expectancy of over 50 years will be applied to St. Louis, replacing the traditional netting which lasts less than 20 years.
Therefore, to facilitate inter-agency coordination, the St. Louis Hill Stabilisation committee was established, comprising of the Disaster Risk Management Division (DRMD) as the leading agency with the support of Seychelles Infrastructure Agency (SIA), Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs (MLGCA), Seychelles Planning Authority (SPA), the Member of the National Assembly (MNA) of St. Louis Hon. Sathya Naidu and District Administrator (DA) of St. Louis Ms. Chantal Mahoune.
To ensure effective on-site coordination, the committee required a suitable location for DRMD to establish a command post and for the project contractor to safely store construction materials. The Seventh-Day Adventist St. Louis Central Church was chosen for its proximity to the project site. Early January 2025, the Church signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with DRMD, permitting the use of the church’s compound for temporary construction. This MOU signifies a pivotal step towards community voluntarism in providing support to disaster risk mitigation measures.
Earlier this month on, Tuesday 21st January 2025, the committee met with members of the Seychelles Mission of Seventh-Day Adventist Church at St. Louis, to finalise the logistics and general terms of conditions of establishing a command post and storing materials on site. The meeting also covered procedures to ensure road safety for drivers and pedestrians and the protection of resident’s property during the project which will be publicised in due time.
