Rising waters on Blacktip Island have many residents worried the island is sinking due to the weight of new construction. (photo courtesy of James Mann)
Blacktip Island officials, alarmed at island-wide flooding this week, warned residents the small Caribbean island may be sinking due to increased construction.
“The island can only support so much weight without sinking,” Public Works chief Stoney Macadam said. “It’s a small island, with a small base that’ll only support so much weight. We already passed balanced-building regulations to ensure if something gets built on one side of the island, an equal something gets built on the other side to keep us from tipping over, but we didn’t factor in overall island-wide load capacity.
“We also didn’t factor in the weight of island visitors and their luggage,” Macadam said. “Our record tourism numbers this year are great, but they come at a price. Plus, most of our guests are healthy eaters, so the weight-per-tourist ratio is spiking, too. And this is right before our busy holiday season.”
Some locals blame tourism in general.
“Never had this problem before they started building all these resorts,” Fanny Basslet said. “Lots of concrete goes into hotels and swimming pools and such. Sandy Bottoms’ big-ass resort by itself probly sunk the island a couple inches. We warned folks about this, but they were too greedy. Now here we are.
“Land crabs are swarming, too. That’s a big sign something’s up,” Basslet said. “You look on the Mayan calendar, it’s got a panel about just this, but people don’t want to believe. Overloading our environment, and now we’re paying the price. Flooded roads and ponds’re just the start.”
Others scoffed at the idea.
“This is more of Stoney’s attention grabbing,” Tiperon University-Blacktip geology professor Leigh Shore said. “Water’s high, and roads are flooding, because of all the tropical storms. The ponds always fill up this time of year. I’d love for Stoney, or anyone, really, to explain, geologically, how the island could sink. Using examples and as much specificity as possible. This is self-imposed ignorance.”
The announcement has also sparked an island-wide surge in boat sales.
“Anybody didn’t have a boat, they got one now,” Peachy Bottoms said. “Most’re strapping ‘em to the roofs of their houses, so they’re ready to go if Blacktip sinks in a hurry. Got mine rigged up like that, packed with all my stuff. And I’m sleeping in it. Soon’s the water hits the top of my roof, I just cut the straps and away I’ll go.”
The Blacktip Times 