– several villages flooded
Persons living along parts of the Essequibo Coast, including farmers are counting their losses following a high tide which caused severe overtopping and crumbled sea defence infrastructure there over the past several days.
The villages affected include Perseverance, Zorg, Cullen and Good Hope and yesterday residents living close to the affected areas called on the authorities to act promptly as some rice farmers expressed concern about the salt water contaminating the already scarce fresh water used to irrigate the rice farms.
Stabroek News visited the affected areas yesterday which several families, mainly cash crop farmers were forced to evacuate. According to the Timehri Met Office, a spring tide which came into effect on Saturday, and was above the normal height of 3 metres, was expected to subside yesterday but residents expressed concern about the breaches in the sea defence.
At Cullen, several persons living in the vicinity of the seawall were forced to evacuate as
water flowed freely through a 30-ft breach in the structure. Savitri Fredericks said she was at home on Saturday afternoon at Cullen when she observed the water level in her yard rising at a fast rate. She said she promptly alerted her neighbours, who assisted her in relocating to higher ground. She said when she left the area the water was at chest height, forcing her to leave some of her belongings behind. While she could not estimate the dollar value of her losses Fredericks said she lost a number of plants including bora, carilla, okra and calaloo; produce which she said would have been ready for the market this week.
When Stabroek News caught up with Fredericks yesterday, she was trying to salvage what was left of her belongings as she attempted to settle in at her new place of abode, her kitchen garden located on higher ground. She said she was frustrated at the entire string of events and is now looking to the Almighty for answers to her trials. She said she and her husband, who rides his bicycle along the Essequibo Coast selling produce from the farm, had been planting in the area over the past two years. Fredericks said the farm was their sole means of income.
Her neighbours in the meantime were cleaning their houses; stains on the walls gave an indication of the level to which the water rose over the past several days. The residents were concerned that water was flowing freely through the breach nearby and the authorities seemed to have turned a blind eye.
At Perseverance, several farmers evacuated the area leaving only a few animals behind to keep watch. Water from a breach in the sea defence structure close to the village, flowed freely through a farm located close to the public road; the entire farm was inundated. A rice farmer living in the area said the situation was worrisome since water entering main canals in the area would contaminate the fresh water utilized by rice farmers. He said while the rice farmers are already in a desperate position as regards sourcing water to irrigate the rice fields, the salt water would effectively kill the rice plants within days.
Several parts of Zorg and Good Hope were also flooded but the flooding there was not
severe as the water receded after a few hours.
Officials attached to the Region Two administration were observed carrying out sea defence works at those two areas yesterday.
Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud at a forum in the mining town of Linden over the weekend, appealed to residents and communities affected by the spring tide to guard against salt water contaminating fresh water sources. He stated that this was especially pertinent with El Nino conditions affecting the country.
