[1] The region the town was built on features some of Dominica's steepest terrain;[2] the slopes were composed largely of silt and clay.
[3] On August 27, 2015, Tropical Storm Erika produced torrential rainfall across Dominica, triggering catastrophic flash flooding and mudslides.
[6] Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit declared the village a special disaster area in light of the tremendous damage.
[1][7] Owing to unstable terrain, the area was declared unsafe and off-limits to all travel for more than two months after Erika.
[3] The destruction of Petite Savanne forced the evacuation of 823 people; the village was later deemed uninhabitable and a new town needed to be built elsewhere.