In total it is estimated 300,000 tons of Daniel’s Harbour fell into the sea in a landslide which also temporarily closed Route 430.
“There is only so much viable land because of the geology of the area. Where the highway bypasses the town is as far as we can go,” he said.
“We can’t go on the other side of the highway.
“The nearest possible land north is 3km and to the south is Portland Creek, seven miles away.”
Mayor Humber said he remembered the night Daniel’s Harbour fell into the ocean.
“I was there that night it fell in,” Mayor Humber said.
“I was part of the fire department and I remember it, it was like the bottom just liquefied. It just disappeared.
“I was personally involved, my father owned the garage, he worked 20-odd years to get that business where it was.
“It’s not a nine to five job, it’s not a Monday to Friday thing, I remember as a school kid opening at 7.30am to 11.30pm just to succeed so to see that area off limits is devastating. It might never move.
“There was a significant landmass area designated off limits, it was a safety zone.
“They (the provincial government) were showing due diligence but to me when you look at the landmass taken, it is right out of the middle of town. Between a third and a quarter of the land in the middle of town is gone.
“It’s a fair chunk.
“It basically means that we have lost most of the middle of town as a whole.”
The government sent assessors to the region and Mayor Humber said that each affected resident was “paid out on replacement cost, not to be better and not to be worse off.”
“Property owners were told that they would not be forced to move from their homes until they had a place to go,” he said.
And now it appears they may have that place.
“Hopefully this subdivision will bring us back to status quo,” he said.
“This is a big deal for a community like this, we are only 250 people.
“Right now life is as normal as it can be.”
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