Torrential rain pounded Georgetown and the East Coast from yesterday afternoon up until last night swamping large parts of the city and leaving wards like Albouystown in accustomed misery despite two months of massive cleaning of drains spearheaded by the new government.
Amid thunder claps and flashes of lightning, the East Coast of Demerara recorded four inches of water between 4pm -7:30pm, while Georgetown recorded 2.5 inches, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure said. The ensuing deluge underlined the reality that the city and East Coast can no longer rely on the present infrastructure which can clear only 1.5 inches of rain every 24 hours.
Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson told Stabroek News last night that all the pumps are fully operational and the sluices are open in the city. Patterson said flooded areas should have seen relief last night once the rain ceased.
Regent, Main, Camp and Middle streets were all flooded last night. Albouystown was also inundated last night and water had crept into residents’ houses when Stabroek News visited.
Raheeda Ali, a resident from Lot 91, Hunter Street, told Stabroek News the water started to gush into the bottom flat of her home. Ali said she has electrical appliances downstairs, inclusive of a fridge, stove and freezer. The woman said she has never lost anything in an Albouystown flood but she is uncertain about the losses she will incur this time around.
An employee from a restaurant in Albouystown told Stabroek News that the business had to close down early last night because water had seeped in. She said it was a great inconvenience and hoped it can be addressed soon.
Residents in Albouystown opted to block off the streets to prevent damaging waves from cars crashing into their houses.
Mayor of Georgetown, Hamilton Green, told Stabroek News last night that he was shocked at the rapid flooding around the City. Green said he had just returned to his office at City Hall and as he was about to exit, the compound was already underwater. He said the rapid flooding occurred in the space of about two hours.
Green said in the morning the council workers will be out to assess canals and make sure everything is functional.
He said the slightest blockage in a canal could cause an entire block to be flooded.
Photo: Thomas Street1.jpg
Caption: Thomas Street opposite the Georgetown Public Hospital was heavily flooded yesterday evening after a day of rain. (Photo by Keno George)
The pumps could not handle the amount of water that fell and as a result the sluices had to be open, Green said. He said parts of the East Coast were flooded, Kingston and ‘A’ Field Sophia.
Green said the Government will have to start looking at long-term solutions to fix Guyana’s flooding situation. He said minimizing styrofoam and plastic should be on the agenda. Some canals might also need to be re-dug, Green said.
Meanwhile, the opposition PPP lost no time in condemning the government over the flooding.
In a statement, the PPP said “The manifestation of the APNU+AFC Administration’s incompetence is once again the burden of the citizenry as they are forced to grapple with flooding despite millions of dollars being expended by government to clean up the city.
With less than an hour of rainfall large sections of the Capital City is inundated with flood waters.
“A preliminary assessment of the situation has indicated the likelihood of a significant impact on the population who will be forced to sleep tonight in dampened conditions, inclusive of flooded bottom- houses and restrictions on their movement. Businesses already experiencing a volatile economic situation are likely to be further hampered by loss sales and millions of dollars in damages as a result of flooding”.
The PPP, which had been in office for 23 years before losing May’s general elections, said it is deplorable that even though citizens and businesses continue to pay millions of dollars in taxes to the city there is little or no relief as every time it rains Georgetown floods while Mayor Green and his support cast throw up excuses after excuses.
The party called on the Granger-led APNU+AFC Administration to extend its forensic audit to the operations of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council.
There was no public warning yesterday from the hydrometeorological department of impending severe weather.
