Foreign organisations arrive to assess flooding situation in Guyana

Certain foreign agencies have met with the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to commence discussion on the Detailed Damage Sector Assessment (DDSA) in light of Guyana’s flooding situation.
Those agencies are the Regional Security System (RSS), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).
The meeting focused on the operations that would be entailed, and how they would be executed; as well as discussions on specific peculiarities that could be encountered during the execution of the assessment.
CDEMA Senior Preparedness Officer Captain Lakshman Persaud expressed that the CDEMA is committed to assisting Guyana in whatever way possible as the country continues to deal with the national disaster.
“We want to make sure our presence here adds value, not only to our work, but to the next step. That’s critical for us at the end of the day,” he has said.
Representatives from several other agencies are scheduled to arrive in Guyana next Thursday. They include those from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), PAHO, a few others from CDEMA, and those from several Caribbean agencies.
The DDSA would focus on analysing the health, water and sanitation infrastructure; housing, agriculture, social sector, shelter and mining, as these are some of the key sectors being affected. It would also see teams going into the most affected regions – Two, Five, Six, Seven and Ten – to assess the damage caused by the intense flooding, and to mobilise additional support.
The report would look at recommendations of what systems could be put in place, if any, to mitigate future such occurrences.
Representing the CDC at the meeting with the foreign agencies were CDC Director General Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig and Preparedness and Response Manager Major Salim October. They met with CDEMA’s Senior Preparedness Officer Captain Lakshman Persaud, Mitigation and Recovery Manager (acting) Alana Walters, and Logistics Manager Captain Michael Andrews.
The lead figures of the other organisations who would arrive in Guyana next Thursday are PAHO Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Adviser Adrianus Vlugman, RSS Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Officer Keisha Linton, and CDEMA’s Programme Managers Joanne Persaud and Rasheed Pinder.