Several villages in Regions 5, 6 inundated due to heavy downpour

Several villages in Regions Five (Mahaica/Berbice) and Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) have been left inundated as a result of the heavy downpour that commenced on Thursday evening and continued into Friday morning.
In Region Five, scores of persons at Ithaca were forced to paddle through several inches of water to get into and out of their yards, while others had to make alternative arrangements for their accommodation as flood waters poured through their homes. Residents have said the flood might have been caused by a koker that was not fixed in time to keep out the water.
Water levels in both the Canje and Berbice Rivers have been rising as a result of continuous rainfall, and a number of households have been affected, as have been livestock, cash and other crops at Ithaca.

After several had been invaded by the rising water levels, the Regional Administration visited the area on Friday afternoon and engaged those affected.
Regional Chairman of Region Five, Vickchand Ramphal, has since made arrangements to have systems put in place to assist those who were affected.
According to Ramphal, all the affected residents would be provided with cleaning agents supplied by the Civil Defence Commission (CDC). He told Guyana Times that Prime Minister Mark Phillips has since been contacted, and has pledged his support. An excavator would be deployed to the area shortly, and would assist with cleaning the internal drains. Moreover, a medical team would be deployed to the area to give the necessary assistance to the community.
In Region Six, sections of East Canje remained under water on Friday evening. The hardest hit area is New Street, Cumberland. Some residents say this is the second flood to hit the area within a very short period of time.
Some persons were unable to go to work on Friday, as several inches of water remained in their homes, while others were just hoping that the water would recede in a timely manner. Both crops and livestock have been affected.
Canje resident Jalisa Joseph explained that this is not the first time her home has been inundated.

“The first time we had to throw away a chair. The freezer is on empty drink cases since the first (flood) last year. The people come around, and my mother gave them her name and they say they will look into it, and nobody came back!” she explained.
Joseph said they have to dump a gas stove that was damaged as a result of that flood.

“The wall divider damage. Look how high the water is… those chairs in there we will have to throw away again. I could not go to work because the bathroom and toilet were under water, so I could not bathe,” the woman disclosed.
Another resident, Mahadeo Indar, explained that the water from other communities would drain into theirs when there is heavy rainfall.
“The water from Bun Bush (Burnt Bush) end coming down here. Bun Bush don’t have any drainage right now, the drainage it totally shut down. We report it to the Council, and nothing happening,” he said.
Desmond Balgobin, whose kitchen garden was under several inches of water, also related that his livestock has likewise been affected.
“Four days now, and the water haven’t drained off as yet. This is the second flood, the first one was last week,” he declared.
Some residents have related that the flooding is a result of poor drainage, and they have blamed the work done by a contractor.
“Since the hymac dig to make the street, they block the culvert mouth, and I went in and told the Overseer during the dry weather, and up to now they have not come and cleaned it; and this is two floods come and hit us, so the water taking very long to drain out,” he said.
Indar explained that a contractor was engaged to rehabilitate Burnt Bush Dam during a massive flood last year. During that period, the foundation of a street was created. He explained that the sand which was in place to construct the road was washed into the drain, causing it to be blocked.
“They didn’t dig it back, so now, when the rains fall, everything running back this way,” he declared.
Following Friday’s episode of rainfall, sections of New Amsterdam, Ordinance Fort Lands and Number 2 Village have been inundated. Regional Executive Officer (REO) Navindra Persaud posited that residents in some of the affected areas have been contacted, and assistance should be provided to them through the CDC. (Andrew Carmichael)