Layou River

The Layou River is a river in Dominica. It rises in the interior of the country, flowing westward to reach the Caribbean Sea on the country's central western coast, very close to the town of St. Joseph. It is the longest and deepest river in Dominica. With a total length of 27.6 km (17.1 mi) long.

Layou River
Layou River
Location of mouth
Location
Country	Dominica
Physical characteristics
Mouth	Caribbean Sea
• coordinates	15°23′N 61°26′W
Length	27.6 km (17.1 mi)
Basin size	74.3 km2 (28.7 sq mi)

Disaster

The river is prone to flooding. Matthieu Dam, which is located near the end of the river, has collapsed multiple times. It started in the year 1997 when landslides, due to heavy rainfall blocked portions of the river.^[1][tone] In the year 2011, the river flooded twice, in July^[2] and October.^[3] This poses a major threat to the Layou village Archived 2016-11-13 at the Wayback Machine. There were no deaths, but it affected 13 dwellings.^[4]