Flood
woes mount The
centre was flooded last month and closed for urgent repairs and it was again
inundated as heavy rains lashed the coast from Friday night into Saturday. The Fire
Service has been trying to drain the centre since Saturday but it has been
dogged by the sheer volume of water that swept into the building. “We
had high intensity rainfall during that 15-hour period”, he told the agency. The
flood waters had receded in some places by yesterday but many held their
breath as cloudy conditions prevailed. A check
around the city showed that some of the most affected areas were Main Street,
New Garden Street, Carifesta Sports Complex, Homestretch Avenue, Regent Street
and Bel Air Park. The
National Park which is usually packed with joggers and others on a Sunday was
deserted and covered with water yesterday. A large
tree in front of the Ministry of Fisheries, Crops and Livestock on Regent
Street, fell Saturday night, breaking the fence around the compound. Public
Works and Hydraulics MInister Anthony Xavier visited the sluice at Sussex
Street, Georgetown, yesterday to monitor desilting progress. “They
have been under water since (Saturday)”, he said, adding that with so much
water on the land, it would take some time before all is drained off. He
revisited several pumps and sluices, including those at Kitty, Liliendaal,
John Fernandes and Ogle. “I am
putting all the resources we have to solve the problem,” he said. “I
will also make recommendations that some more pumps be put down so that we can
keep pumping water out when there is a high tide and the sluice door has to be
closed,” Xavier told GINA. Acting
General Manager of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco) East Demerara
Estates, Mr. Albert Katryan, said all 19 pumps available are working
round-the-clock to drain flood waters. He,
however, noted that due to the sheer volume of the water, the pumps cannot
adequately and effectively get rid of all. He said
the pumps are working continuously, and are only out for about four hours per
day depending on the tide. He said
more than five inches of rain were recorded on Saturday and once there is more
than 1.5 to two inches of rain on a day, the system the corporation has in
place “cannot cope”. He said
he was not aware of reports of a 20-foot breach in the Guysuco conservancy dam
at Golden Grove compounding the flood woes in areas including Nabaclis,
Haslington, Enmore, Enterprise and Strathspey. At
Craig, on the East Bank Demerara, which was severely affected by floods since
early last week, an eight-member team from the Ministry of Heath yesterday met
residents to educate them on safety measures after flooding. The team
visited several homes and distributed information sheets on how to treat water
and clean up the environment after flooding. Children
who may be exposed to various diseases because of the flooding were also
treated by a doctor. Residents
yesterday told this newspaper that the flooding caused alligators to come on
land and carry away dogs and they were scared to let their children out of
sight. One
resident said bones were found floating in the water when she awoke yesterday
morning. At the
Craig Health Centre, Health Education Officer Dawn Primo, gave useful tips on
what to do after a flood situation. Boiling water to drink is one of the most
important, she said. She
advised that those who do not always have access to tap water, should allow it
to settle before it is boiled for 15 minutes and poured into a clean container
which must be kept covered. Primo
said that after a flood, persons should clean walls and floors with a chlorine
bleach solution and then again with Hygenol or Pine Sol to remove the rank
smell. Primo
pointed out that it is important for people to understand that all foods,
crops and fruits that come into contact with flood waters must be dumped. To
prevent mosquito breeding, all garbage and refuse, including bottles, tyres
and other containers that are likely to collect water must be buried. And if
possible, repair all broken pipes and water mains. Other
East Bank villages affected by the flooding were Grove, Herstelling, and
Providence.
HOUSEHOLDS
and business places in the capital
Georgetown and other parts of the coast were yesterday counting
the toll from what some said were the worst
floods in the city and its environs in living memory.
At the
country’s premier venue for plays and cultural shows, the National Cultural
Centre in Georgetown, the water yesterday remained over chairs in the main
front auditorium – a chilling reminder of how vulnerable the city has become
to floods.
GRIM
REMINDER: flood waters in the National Cultural Centre
auditorium yesterday. (Delano Williams photos)
Chief
Hydrometeorological Officer Dilip Jaigopaul told the Government
Information Agency (GINA) there were 10 inches of rain between 20:00 hrs on
Friday and 14:00 hrs Saturday.
SWAMPED:
the Editorial Department of the Chronicle was under some four inches
of water over the weekend. Staff members and others try to get some of
the water out yesterday.
Residents in many areas in and around Georgetown, whose homes had not been
flooded before, yesterday said they spent much of Saturday trying to bail
water out from bottom flats.
Some were
still battling to keep water out of their lower flats by stacking sandbags at
doors.
DOWNED:
this Guyana Power and Light pole near Carifesta Sports Club in the
city fell Saturday night, destroying a guard hut in the compound,
which was also flooded out.
He told
GINA he has arranged for the water from the Sussex Canal to be pumped out to
ease the problem being faced by Albouystown residents.
DESERTED:
the National Park, usually packed on Sunday mornings, was empty
yesterday.
He said all
outfalls in the city will be cleaned before the next rainy season.
WATER
BLANKET: Main Street was one of many in the city which was
covered in water after heavy rainfall Saturday.
Pointing
out that he is no expert in this area, Katryan felt that it would be at least
another day before the water is drained off from swamped villages along the
East Coast.
UPROOTED:
this huge tree on Regent Street fell Saturday night, damaging the
Ministry of Fisheries, Crops and Livestock fence.
She said it
was presumed that the flood waters washed the bones from tombs in the cemetery
on the opposite side.
EMPTY
STATIONS: no one could work at these computers in the Chronicle
Editorial Department after the flood swamped the section Saturday.
