A NUMBER of villages near Gold Ridge were deserted this week.
Raymond Piti, who was one of those escaped, said villagers feared the Gold Ridge Mining tailing dam would collapse.
“On Wednesday evening, many people residing in villages downstream escaped to the GPPOL areas,” he said.
“The tailing damn has reached its maximum capacity during the flooding and there are fears it will collapse and wiped out the villages,” Mr Piti said.
He added that there were already some leakages.
He said the concentration of cyanide in the tailing dam is high.
“It has not been properly treated and any flooding from the dam can wipe out villages.”
Another villager from Pitukoli said people are living in fear.
Officials of the Ministry of Mines and Energy were believed to have visited the Gold Ridge mine site yesterday to assess the situation.
No officials were available for comment last night.
Meanwhile, residents of Koa Hill are also living in fear over rumours landslide had blocked the upper Matanikau River and a huge pool of water has been building up there.
Timothy Magusi who resides at Koa Hill said people are living in fear and want the rumours substantiated and cleared.
“A lot of people from the settlement yesterday decided to remain at home to look after their families. Many did not go to work and also stayed awake all night.
When contacted, assistant police commissioner operations Mosese Nela said there is no such thing.
“We visited the site and we also witness that there is no logging operation there as people said.
“The timbers and debris carried by the flood were trees and homes uprooted by the flood,” he said.
He clarified that there is no more threats and the rumours are not true.
People should stop spreading rumours when many are still in shock and fear.
The National Disaster Management Office also issued a statement saying the rumours were not true.
“The Mataniko, Lungga and Tina rivers were not found to have any blockages during an aerial assessment yesterday.
“These three major rivers were investigated, along with other main rivers in Guadalcanal, following reports of dams being created upstream by landslides during last week’s flooding crisis.”
The statement said the Civil Aviation Authority, who conducted the assessment, reported no dams or additional unsafe inundated areas along these rivers.
A team from the Ministry of Mines and Energy will also evaluate the safety of these areas in a detailed sector assessment, which sstarted yesterday.
This will include a geological and a hydrological survey.
The National Emergency Operations Centre will continue to keep the public informed of any findings that may affect people’s safety.
By EDNAL PALMER and STEPHEN DIISANGO
