Several breaches in the defence along the East Bank of Demerara were pummelled by river water for the second day in a row as the effects of a spring tide continued yesterday.
The authorities have advised residents living in vulnerable, low-lying and riverain and coastal communities especially those living close to sea and river defences to take the necessary precautions over the next few days as the spring tide will be effective until Sunday.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) Hydromet Department, the spring tide is forecast to peak at 5:14 am and 5:55 pm today at heights of 3.33m and 3.27m respectively.
During a visit to communities along the EBD yesterday afternoon, several areas along the sides of the Demerara River were under a few inches of water as the tide rose shortly after 5 pm. The areas affected are between the villages of Meadowbank and Little Diamond. Persons living along the ‘Sea Dam’ at Herstelling felt the brunt of the tides.
Several residents came out of their homes as the time inched closer to 5 pm at the Sea Dam area and according to persons living there, they have been prepared for what is to come within the next few days.
Marcia Lowe, a mother of seven told this newspaper that she and her relatives were awakened around 3 am yesterday as waves began to pound against the foundation of their small two-bedroom home. She said that the home has already begun “to lean”, as she recounted running out of her home with her children, the youngest being five years old, yesterday morning around 4 am.
Lowe said that the village had already experienced the effects of the high tide since the day before but she described yesterday morning’s ordeal as the worst she has experienced in her 12 years living at the location. A breach measuring approximately five feet was evident a few feet away from the posts supporting her home.
The water began to rise close to 3:30 am and according to Lowe, she woke up her children and “had them on standby” as herself and neighbours waited and watched for close to three hours before the tide subsided. The family then had a task at hand to clean up their surroundings, while several pieces of washing and cooking utensils, which floated away from the steps of the house, had to be retrieved from the nearby canals.
She said she and her husband had applied for a house lot several years ago but they have not heard anything from the authorities since.
Ruth Mangru, a mother of three girls, was praying for the situation to dissipate as her surroundings were under water yesterday afternoon. She told Stabroek News that the water flooded her entire yard during the early morning high tide but it was last evening‘s tide which forced her and her three children to remain indoors as she feared her children may contract water-borne diseases.
She said that her house also began to shift on its foundation while her entire bathroom and toilet (pit latrine) were under water. This was observed first-hand by this newspaper as the tide reigned around twilight yesterday while residents of the 52 households along the Sea Dam looked on helplessly.
Residents there stated that the entire situation left much to be desired as many lamented that they have been waiting for years for their house lot applications to be processed. One resident, a cane cutter by profession, told this newspaper that he, like most residents in the area, had been living at the location for approximately 12 years. He said that he applied for a house lot since 1993, and it was only this year that his application is being processed.
The man displayed receipts to this effect and he expressed hope that the situation would gain the attention of the authorities since he noted that the children in the area are exposed to a number of bacterial diseases.
This newspaper visited several locations further up the EBD yesterday and excavation works were observed to have been undertaken on the foreshore aback the villages of Little Diamond and Great Diamond. The dam in the area was built up several feet above its previous level covering a distance of approximately 300 meters, a resident recalled, and according to him, the works closer to the koker adjoining Little Diamond and Prospect were recently done as water had flowed over the sides of the koker when the tides peaked over the past two days.
Further up the East Bank at Craig, sand bags were placed at the sides of the Demerara River to reinforce the sea defence infrastructure there as a tractor driven pump was in operation at the turn leading to New Hope.
A resident living further up at Friendship at an area known as ‘River View’ noted that she had approached the authorities to clean a canal close to her home which she noted was ‘falling-in’ as no paling staves were erected along the sides. She said that the situation also had an effect on the nearby public road as the northern shoulder of the roadway was sinking in.
The woman said that the water from the high tides flooded the environs of the canal, including her yard, and according to her the area in front of the nearby koker needed to be desilted. Neighbours also noted that there was a breach around the sides of the koker as water was flowing freely through several cracks in the infrastructure yesterday morning.
According to the MoA, the River and Sea Defence Department of the Public Works Ministry has been advised of the current situation and to take necessary action while the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) has been urged to support local government authorities and to ensure all internal drainage systems are in working order.
