Floodwater continued to rise in some East Coast Demerara (ECD) villages yesterday although drainage stations have been pumping water day and night since last Saturday and the government yesterday warned that rainfall could be similar to that during the 2005 Great Flood.
North Nootenzuil residents reported that after a few hours of rainfall Monday night which extended into the wee hours of Tuesday morning water began gushing into their homes and submerged their crops.
Departing Georgetown at approximately 10.30am yesterday
Stabroek News travelled along the ECD Public Road to Hope, checking on the drainage stations along the way. Brushe Dam, Friendship, Sherriga Housing Scheme, Enmore, Belfield Housing Scheme and Nootenzuil were the villages randomly selected for closer examination.
Residents of these coastal villages were also selected at random and interviewed. They all told this newspaper that they were dreading another major flood like the 2005 one which forced them to put their lives on hold and injected “distress which will never be truly forgotten.”
Last night the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported Prime Minister Sam Hinds as urging Guyanese to prepare for heavier rains. He issued the statement after presiding over a meeting of the technical oversight committee which is keeping an eye on the rains. The GINA release said that predictions are that the same amount of rain as experienced in 2005 and 2006 is likely.
“This was evident on December 10 after some parts of the capital were inundated after a period of heavy rainfall. Early this morning another heavy downpour, resulted in a rise in water levels. Mr. Hinds said information from the Hydromet Office indicated that some 90 millimetres (mm) of rainfall were recorded from 22:00 h last evening to 08:00 this morning.”
GINA added “During the period December 1 to 11, Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and other locations experienced 11 consecutive days of rainfall up to 75 mm.
“The Chief Hydromet Officer (ag) (Bhaleka Seulall)said Bee Hive experienced 236.5 millimeters of rainfall while Enmore experienced 224.5 mm. Rainfall in Georgetown has so far exceeded the usual average and is experienced periodically during the periods 1:00 h to 6:00 h.
“There are going to be periods of heavy and intense downpours and in these downpours we could have in excess of 50 to 75 mm of rain in 24 hours… We have been experiencing that and the outlook for the season is above normal.
During December, rainfall usually records 185.9 mm but this time around, 426.6 mm were evident.”
Shaundel Headley who lives on the northern side of Brushe Dam, Friendship said the water is almost in her house and its level has been fluctuating during the past three days. The woman’s narrow wooden bridge leading into her yard is completely submerged in the discoloured water and poses a constant threat to those using it.
Those living on the southern side of the dam have just under 3 feet of water to deal with, approximately twice as much as on the northern side. Many have lost household appliances, clothes and other materials.
“I still have to trudge through this water to get to work,” a Brushe Dam resident pointed out. “Our employers don’t care what’s happening to us here…we have to get to work and get there on time.”
Moving farther east along the public road from Friendship to the village of Enmore water could still be seen in many yards and in those where the water had receded pockets of water and slushy mud were evident.
At approximately 1.30pm Stabroek News visited the Sherriga Housing Scheme and discovered that the water had receded a bit and many residents were cleaning the lower flats of their houses.
“Meh husband does work for six hundred and something dollars a day and since we get flood I can’t cook – is bread and drink every day,” Banu Rashiv, a resident of Sherriga Housing Scheme, said.
Rashiv, who was cleaning her ground floor kitchen when this newspaper visited, explained that about 18 inches of water had been in her yard. The woman was forced to stack her refrigerator and other items on concrete blocks to keep them safe.
However, Rashiv pointed out that the physical damage done to their home was not all the flood has caused. The woman said she suffers from hypertension and diabetes, medical conditions which were made worse by the flooding.
Further, Rashiv said her husband lost his job and was up to yesterday trying to find some other means of employment to “scrape” a living for them.
“After de flood come I couldn’t cook fuh he…so he couldn’t manage at work and he stay home a couple ah day and he get knock off fuh that…I de done clean de upstairs fuh Christmas but now it nah feel like Christmas at all,” Rashiv said.
Belfield residents informed Stabroek News that some of the water had receded. However, when this newspaper visited the area yesterday some yards had up to 2 feet of water. Neighbourhood grocery shops also sustained losses but were still operating.
J. Bailey, a shop owner in the community, said she lost about $100,000 worth of stock. The woman said that the water damaged several bags of rice and sugar and a quantity of soap among other items.
Suffering a similar fate, Sharon Grenada another shop owner in the community invited Stabroek News into her home where there was still about 10 inches of water. A number of her creole fowl, she said, had died and several others could be seen clustered in a wheel barrow and on the shed of a kennel.
Water was also in the house of Pastor Brentnol Joseph. According to the pastor, the water level this time around is higher than in 2005 when the coast had suffered from massive flooding.
Kokers and garbage
A koker which is located at the Belfield/Nootenzuil north border, Joseph stated, was supposed to be used to control the water level in the area. However, he said that koker has not been used in almost three years.
“The last time they used that koker was in 2005…but they had to lift the sluice with the help of machinery,” Joseph explained.
Venturing to the location for a closer look at the koker this newspaper observed that the pulley used to lift the sluice was heavily rusted and large amounts of garbage had accumulated there.
Annie Singh, a shop owner, and Addie Balkaran, a farmer, of Nootenzuil North reiterated Joseph’s comments regarding the koker. According to them, prior to it being opened three years ago it had not been functioning for one and a half decades.
Residents also noted that a pump had been stationed in the area during the previous flood but it had been removed shortly after.
Balkaran explained that the flood cost him 1,500 boulanger (egg plant) plants and he believes that if the koker had been functioning and a pump allotted to the area this could have been avoided.
On entering Enmore an excavator was seen clearing refuse from a drainage canal and deepening the manmade waterway. However, during stops at the various pump stations large heaps of garbage could be seen heaped next to major waterways and even more alarming was the fact that larger amounts were floating in the drainage canals.
Drainage Stations
Stabroek News visited the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and National Drainage and Irrigation Board (NDIB) drainage stations located at Montrose, Triumph, Good Hope, Enmore and Hope. All stations were functioning and being monitored.
However, a pump operator at Montrose reported that the main pump at the station had been sent overseas for repair. He explained that of the five pumps usually available at that station, one was the most “powerful”.
The Enmore GuySuCo Drainage station, at approximately 1pm when Stabroek News visited, was awaiting power supply.
