Residents in several villages along the Lower East Coast of Demerara (ECD) began to mop up their homes yesterday as floodwaters gradually receded.
During a visit to several villages yesterday afternoon, persons living at Better Hope, Montrose, Felicity, Mon Repos, La Bonne Intention (LBI) and at Dazzell Housing Scheme, along the railway line embankment, told this newspaper that the water level within their flooded yards was gradually dropping as the day progressed. It was noted by persons at LBI that they were able trek out of their yards by lunch time yesterday, as the water level dropped during the morning.
A resident of Cherry Field, LBI told this newspaper that the area was in need of a proper drainage system, since water being pumped out of the backlands close to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) had been accumulating within the area since Monday. They noted that this may have been the cause of water accumulating in their yards over the past two days. Residents of South Cummings Lodge also reported that the water level within their area was receding during the day yesterday.
Meantime, operations at the Ogle airport returned to normal yesterday following the re-opening of a runway that had been closed. The smaller of the two airstrips had been closed to normal aircraft operations, after sections of the airfield were flooded out on Monday. Water was being pumped out of the area during the course of yesterday.
An official at the Agriculture Ministry told this newspaper on Tuesday that “the back water” from the backlands had accumulated in the areas along the ECD, following the persistent rainfall. He said that the authorities were pumping the water out of the area and with time the water levels would have receded.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), water levels around the country were being monitored. At the Golden Fleece Conservancy on the Essequibo Coast, the water levels there were being monitored following overtopping on Tuesday. Several areas were under significant levels of water and reports from the area yesterday suggested that the levels were receding.
Mostly fair weather is predicted over the next four days with cloudy conditions and intermittent showers forecasted for the weekend. The MoA had activated its plan, which the agency noted was created in anticipation of the amount of rainfall three days ago. The Ministry also noted that routine assistance was being provided by the agency.
