Dili, May 8, 2025 (Média Democracia) – The government, through the Secretary of State for Toponymy, Planning, and Urban Organization (SEATOU), is continuing clean-up operations along the river and in community houses in Moris-Foun Village, which were affected by flooding two months ago. This clean-up activity is being carried out on Wednesday.
The Secretary of State for Toponymy, Planning, and Urban Organization, Germano Santa Brites Dias, stated that this effort continues to clean debris and homes in areas previously flooded, serving as a warning to communities not to return to high-risk areas.
“Today, our joint team continues cleaning homes that were hit by the floods two months ago, to prevent members of the community from returning and living there again. We are working together with the Ministry of Public Works, which is supporting the use of machinery for clean-up this week, so the government can move forward with further developments in this area,” said Secretary Germano Santa Brites Dias.
He added that during this effort, the joint team in Dili is working to reduce the risk of natural disasters for the city’s population and called on other communities living in high-risk areas to cooperate with the government in order to minimize the impact of future disasters.
“Some community members who were relocated from quarantine areas have returned, with some drivers falsely transporting them back via the main road to Moris-Foun. In reality, some families have returned to homes recently affected by flooding. Today, we are continuing to move these families to find other, safer places to live. The government will no longer provide transport assistance to move them each time,” added the Secretary.
He reiterated his request to community members who were relocated from the Tasi-Tolu quarantine site not to attempt to return to homes recently affected by floods, as these are within high-risk areas and could endanger their lives.
The Secretary further explained that SEATOU, together with the Ministry of Public Works, supported strongly by the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) and the F-FDTL, continues clean-up work on debris and houses in Moris-Foun Village to prevent residents from returning to live in the area, which remains high-risk.
Report: Nelfiano
Photo: Nelfiano