Heavy rainfall and poor irrigation in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) resulted in severe flooding to households and businesses in Charity on Monday. The water forced businesses to close their doors for the entire day.
The flood water in one of the business places
The Charity/Ursara Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and the regional administration have assessed the situation and a tractor pump was installed to drain the floodwater.
However, several stall owners at the Charity Market went to ply their trade on the busiest day of the week but were greeted by several inches of water due to the continuous downpour.
In addition, due to flooding, consumers were forced to discontinue shopping, which ultimately resulted in stalls being closed prematurely.
One vendor, Sarita Fredericks, stated that the water started to rise and within seconds, the water was about five inches above her ankles. She added that business was terrible because her regular customers were turned away due to the water level.
The water continues to rise
Additionally, the lower flat of the popular Xenon Hotel, Purple Heart Restaurant and Bar among other business places were inundated with water and as such had a negative impact on the business since they were forced to close.
However, Xenon Hotel was only able to accommodate overnight guests due to the high level of water in the lower flat of the building.
Meanwhile, Regional Vice Chairman Humace Odit visited the area on Monday and had a first-hand look at the situation. He noted that pumps and the sluice are operational and also, two additional tractor pumps were installed in the area to assist in draining the excess water.
One of the pumps installed to drain the water
He also pointed out that the flooding is caused a result of persons dumping their garbage into the waterways which ultimately caused the pump to clog.
Odit added that the water level in the Pomeroon River was very high thus causing it to overtop.
“The regional team is working on the ground in Charity to help drain excess water on the land. Vendors and other persons after selling throw their garbage into the drains and waterways, causing it to clog up so when it rains heavily the village always floods,” he said. (Raywattie Deonarine)
