Momoa Fou residents have appealed to the local authorities to address the overflooding of the ford which continues to block access to the suburb.

On Tuesday heavy rain triggered flooding which damaged the ford and made the access road impassable for the local residents.

Moamoa Fou resident Poasa Tofiga told the Samoa Observer on Tuesday that he could not go to work due to the ford being damaged.

“A lot of our villagers came around 7am in the morning to go to work but instead some were being forced to go home because we cannot get to the other side,” he said in an interview.

“It was also not safe for people to walk across to the other side earlier in the morning because the river burst.

“This is the only road people can take to get to the other side, now it’s afternoon and the road still hasn’t been fixed.

“This situation has happened before and people would cut down a tamaligi tree and it fell on the damaged ford so people could cross.”

Some of the residents who live in Moamoa Fou, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they continue to appeal to the authorities to build a proper bridge which would ensure flooding didn’t affect their mode of transport.

They said heavy rain in the area often results in the flooding of the ford and their only access to the rest of Apia getting cut off, while also criticising the local contractor responsible for maintaining the road whom they claimed only used rocks and sand which always got washed away during heavy downpour.

The appeal by the local residents for a bridge to be built to replace the ford coincides with the weather forecast released by the Samoa Meteorological Service, which forecast heavy rainfall starting from Monday night. 

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority (F.E.S.A.) also appealed to the public to avoid using that route when travelling to Moamoa Fou for their own safety. 

When the Samoa Observer visited the scene on Tuesday, there was a long line of vehicles on both sides of the destroyed ford.