Several homes at Coomacka Mines, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), were inundated on Friday afternoon after two culverts and a dam reportedly overtopped following a heavy downpour.
One of the homes under water on Friday
Guyana Times understands that approximately 10 homes were severely affected and were under water as a result of the late afternoon storm.
Chairman of the Coomacka Community Development Council (CDC), Dexter Harding when contacted explained that $48 million was spent on the dam done by the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) several months ago.
“This thing really started about a month ago. We had a breach in the dam which was constructed. They did some work on the beach to desilt the beach area and between the beach and the dam was $48 million… the water flooded homes, causing damage to household items”, Harding explained.
According to Harding, he attempted to contact the regional officials but to no avail. Nevertheless, he noted that as the water receded later in the evening, the residents were relieved.
The water as it gushes onto land due to the overtopping
The CDC Chairman said recommendations would have to be made moving forward. The community has suffered tremendous flooding and erosion in the past which has prompted intervention both at the regional and national levels.
In January last year, engineers attached to the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) visited the community to brainstorm effective methods of dealing with the constant flooding in the area.
As a result of severe erosion, more than half of the community’s river was deemed impassible with residents being affected due to intense flooding.
Regional Chairman Renis Morian had noted at the time that the issue was compounded by years of bauxite mining in the community.
