Reminiscences of the massive swamping in 2005 gripped lower East Coast Demerara residents and many in the city yesterday, as the rain fell incessantly for most of the day; showers are expected to continue until tomorrow.
Sandbags at doors, buckets lined up to bail water, inundated yards and in some instances, homes, were the collective signs of trouble. But there was also evidence of raised structures and recent cement work as part of continuous preventive measures by some residents against the heavy showers.
The cries of residents stretching from Good Hope on the East Coast to South Georgetown were loud yesterday as many asked when the weather is likely to change and if they are to prepare for the worst.
At a press briefing at the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority’s (NDIA) boardroom yesterday, the authority’s Chief Executive Officer Lionel Wordsworth said that Regions Three and Four were the regions most affected by the continuous rainfall.
He said that because of the rainfall the water level in the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) had risen and was rising.
Noting that March was historically a dry month, he said water had been stored in the conservancy in preparation for this. But measurements taken at Flagstaff at the EDWC, revealed that five inches of rain had fallen over a short period of time.
However, Wordsworth said, the water level in the conservancy was still manageable and it was currently being discharged towards the Demerara River. He said constant monitoring was ongoing. He said the current water level in the conservancy was 57.8 GD (Georgetown Datum) up from a level of 57.5 GD before the rain.
A press release issued earlier yesterday by the Hydrometeorological Office in the Ministry of Agriculture said a reduction in rainfall was possible tomorrow, but some areas in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six may experience occasional high intensity rainfall and gusty winds.
Rainfall figures were projected to range from 25.4mm (1.0 inches) to 70.0mm (2.76 inches) in a 24-hour period. The office said that La Nina conditions are influencing the weather conditions locally.
La Niña is being blamed for a shift in normal weather patterns across South America, which is bringing extremes across the continent. It is reported to have caused the recent flooding in Bolivia and Ecuador. Both countries were pounded by torrential rains for weeks resulting in severe flooding.
The ministry pleaded with farmers and residents in low-lying areas to be alert and take the necessary precautions, adding that it is making every effort to have all pumps operating and kokers in the drainage and irrigation areas to be opened on time.
Stabroek News observed that the pumps along the lower East Coast were operating yesterday except for the pump at the Kitty seawall. Workmen at the site told this newspaper that there was an oil leak, which they were working to fix and pointed out that it would not be long before the pump was in operation.
Central Georgetown, which is vulnerable to the slightest of rain, was under water early yesterday and businesses along Regent, Water and Main streets were affected. When New Thriving Restaurant on Camp Street opened its doors just after 10 am, water was already inside the restaurant.
The water level was high in a few other areas such as Campbellville, Kitty and Queenstown. Sections of Crown Street in Queenstown resembled a river and many children were spotted wading through to get to school.
As is often the case, South Georgetown was not spared. Residents at Tuvcille; East and West Ruimveldt; South and North Ruimveldt and Lodge were battling water in their homes and complaining about poor drainage in their communities.
Examinations were disrupted at Tucville Secondary School owing to a poor student turnout and a flooded schoolyard. Teachers and about half of the student population turned up to find a flooded schoolyard and water in a few classrooms. A decision was then taken for the examinations to be pushed back to another day.
“This is normal,” one student said as she made her way out of the compound in the company of a few other students who commented that they should not have bothered to show up at all for classes.
“Government came and raised this road here and promised to look into the drainage but that never happen so every time there is a heavy shower we does find ourselves in problem,” Colin Yamster said yesterday from his swamped yard.
Yamster, who operates a shop at Critchlow Circle, Tucville, was tending to customers in water two inches high. He said it has become routine whenever rain falls to gear up in long boots and relocate goods. According to him, many homes in the area would be spared if the drainage were looked into. He pointed to a home opposite his where he said an elderly woman lives. Yamster said her yard was “like a drain” so when the water starts to recede in the area, most of it settled in her yard and would be there for days.
Over at East Ruimveldt, Back Circle, residents were rushing to stack up furniture, pull up carpets and put away other items as the water poured into homes. From as early as 5 am, Jenny Bourne was up packing things away and bailing out water. She said the water kept rising with every hour and by midday the bottom flat of the home was flooded, which she said has become the norm when it rains.
Christine Butters who lives close by said the weather was horrible this time around. She said water would enter her home when it rained heavily but this is the first time in recent times that she has seen it so high.
“It is like a river here and this water is not going down, it getting higher,” she lamented yesterday afternoon.
At Felicity, East Coast Demerara water was inside a few homes. One family, whose home had been flooded since Friday, said it was the result of poor drainage and heavy showers. The family said water, which flowed “from the back dam”, had started to settle in the yard since Friday, then the rains came and it rose and entered the home.
“How things deh here, is like January 2005 when we had water plenty in the house,” one of the family members commented.
Cash crop farmer, Fizal Ally who was hit severely during the January 2005 flood and was not compensated though he sought help from “all over”, said yesterday that he had been hard hit again and was being forced to harvest early.
Ally pointed to his 34 beds of calaloo and pakchoy that were swamped; he said they needed another four days before harvesting. However, he said the water damages the crops and if the rain continued, he would be forced to pick them and sell them off at the Montrose market.
“This rain does really affect me when it fall like this and is only a few hours of rain that did this to me. I have seedling beds and they under water right now,” Ally added.
