Heavy rainfall over the past two days has caused flooding in the Pomeroon River area and some parts of Charity on the Essequibo Coast, but the water has started to recede in some places.
At Charity, the flooding was exacerbated by a non-functioning pump. However, a Neighbourhood Demo-cratic Council member said yesterday that it should be back in service shortly.
One of the severely affected areas was the Charity Squatting Area and when Stabroek News visited yesterday the water was approximately five inches high. Persons living in the area said this was the first major flood since 2005.
“I couldn’t even leave my house yesterday [Thursday] because all the bridges float away. The water was about a foot high but it gone down a little. The water in the trench and on land is level,” David James told this publication.
Another resident lamented that the toilets had overflowed. “We have pit latrines here and all overflow because of the flood. Children done complaining that deh foot scratching because of the water,” the resident said.
In some parts of the Squatting Area residents built access walkways leading to their steps so that they would not have to walk in the water.
Meanwhile, persons living in the Pomeroon River experienced the full blast of the flooding.
“The water was very high on Thursday but it gone down now. I have some fat, fat chicken and we had to build up boards and put them on it. Until the water gone down then we will know if the water destroy our crops,” one woman from Jacklow said. According to reports, the water has begun to recede.
All efforts made by this publication to contact Regional Chairman Permanand Persaud proved futile. But according to a resident, he visited the affected areas in Charity on Thursday.
NDC Councillor at Charity, Magbol A. Basir, when contacted, said that the pump was not working.
“In a few days, we are supposed to get the pump to work,” he said. “The problem is not with the any of the kokers. It is because of the rainfall and the high tides. We have already sent our report to the [regional] administration so they will look into the situation,” he added.
Residents of Charity are hoping that they will receive disinfectants from the region administration to aid in the prevention of waterborne diseases.
