Larges waves overtopped the Ocean View, Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara seawall on Monday, leaving some residents counting millions in losses in what they said is the worst flooding they have seen in the area.
When Stabroek News visited some of the homes yesterday in the community, it found that many residents had almost completed their clean-up although they remained on edge about more flooding and losses. Unusually high tides, waves and winds have been predicted to last until Friday. According to tide-forecast.com, the highest recorded tide is expected tomorrow at 5:53am with waves reaching 9.2 feet in height.
A store owner, who gave his name only as “Ritchie,” said that at about 3pm on Monday he heard the continuous sound of splashing waves coming and soon he and his daughters saw water rising in the nearby trenches. It was then they realised that it was coming from over the wall.
“The water was rushing in and coming fast,” he said, adding, “I started to worry about the goods that I had in the bonds.”
He lost bags of flour, sugar, rice as well as chicken feed that were soaked by the salt water.
Apart from the goods he lost, he noted, it was costly to have workers clean his two bonds and the yard; which was littered with bottles and mud. “The waves didn’t really scare me but I worried about the goods. It’s not easy to work hard and buy them things to see it go down so and we can’t get back nothing,” he said.
Although waves continued to pound the seawall early yesterday morning, they were not as large as the previous ones, he added.
Rihana Prabhudyal said that almost everything in her home, including her clothing, electronics and furniture, was damaged by the water that got into her home.
She said that the water in her home was about three feet high. After she and other occupants of the house bailed it out, they found empty bottles and dead fish. She estimated her losses at around $800,000.
Another resident, Silvie Persaud, said that she was terrified after she discovered that her transformer was under water. She quickly asked for assistance in disconnecting it and then removed her possessions to higher ground.
“We tried to get them things up high and out of the house but water keep rushing in so we could not have saved much like the chair and a suitcase with my church clothes along with some other articles,” Persaud explained.
She added that at the time she was confused and told the residents who assisted her to leave some of the articles under water.
A man, who provided his name as “Dan,” said that between 3:30 and 4 on Monday afternoon, the water started to gradually rise in the gutters and filled his yard before soon entering his home. The floodwater in his house reached five inches in height, he said, while adding that it took him and his wife all night to clean their home and discard the damaged items.
