Situation in Bellevue a disaster, says East Portland MP

A disaster! That's how Dr. Lynvale Bloomfield, Member of Parliament for Portland Eastern, has described the situation in the community of Bellevue following last week's heavy rains.
   
Dr. Bloomfield says hundreds of persons remain marooned as there are 18 landslides along some of the roads in Bellevue and neighbouring communities.
   
He adds that some residents are in a desperate situation as sections of the community are without water and electricity.
   
Speaking Wednesday on RJR's Beyond the Headlines, Dr. Bloomfield said some children have to walk up to two miles and over landslides - some as high as eight feet - to get transportation to schools outside the community.

Meanwhile, the National Works Agency (NWA) said recurring landslides have made it difficult to clear the roads.

"We actually had to get the heavy equipment to double-back to reopen a section of the road that had us cut off for a moment," shared NWA Communication Manager Stephen Shaw.

He added that the NWA is trying to formulate a strategy to clear the road leading to Bellevue Primary School, which has been closed since Monday.
  
He outlined that other damage to the community's infrastructure have been posing major concerns.

"Roughly 20-30 metres from where the heavy duty equipment is at work, the road is actually cut in two. There was a major drainage feature in that area- all of that has been washed out and all the culverts are down in a gully. We'll have to look at having a retaining structure erected," he explained.

Mr. Shaw said it is unclear how the equipment will get to the other side of the breakaway to continue clearing the road.