Sections of Kingston, Georgetown were flooded yesterday after the koker at Kingston was left open but the situation is under control, the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) said.
The flooding was a result of the koker not being completely closed, M&CC Public Relations Officer Royston King stated yesterday. King also said that the water was receding up to yesterday afternoon and the City Engineer’s Department has launched an investigation into the situation.
A worker, who was present at the Kingston koker, said that there was high tide and when the koker operator tried to close the koker, about a one-foot gap was left open, through which water seeped and flooded the area.
In June last year, a similar situation occurred when the koker attendant left it open, resulting in flooding in the surrounding areas.
Around 10am, residents began noticing the water in their drains rising and some were eventually forced to take their shoes off to walk through the flooded streets that were covered with about a foot of water. In addition to residents, the flooding affected the Ministry of Public Works, the office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance among others.
A resident said it was around 11:30 am that she began to notice the water in her drain rising. Within five minutes, she added, her yard was flooded.
Another resident also said that she saw water coming into her yard from the Ministry of Public Works about 11am, causing it to flood. She also said that when she asked a truck
that was providing sand bags to the ministry for one of them, she was told that she could not have any and her yard was left flooded.