Poor drainage is said to have been a contributing factor in Sunday’s flooding of Bartica’s commercial zone, according to Mayor of Bartica Gifford Marshall.
Bartica residents suffered extensive damage and millions in losses following a thunderstorm, considered the worst in recent memory, which resulted in flooding in the area.
On Monday, the Mayor stated that some residents had indicated that the flooding may have been caused by a failure of the sluice door. When the sluice was opened, he said, most of the water receded, save for the water in the alleyways and drains.
He also offered the assurance that an engineer would soon be visiting the town to make a proper assessment of the causes of the disaster.
Contacted on Tuesday for an update on the situation, Marshall stated that the assessment by the engineer revealed that poor drainage had contributed to Sunday’s flooding.
He further stated that though he was not yet presented with the full report from the engineer, he was informed that a section of an outfall was found to be in a deplorable state as it was filled with debris, while sections of a main drain fell apart.
The full report is expected to be handed over today, Marshall added.
The thunderstorm had brought rains, which lasted for about two to two and a half hours and affected mostly residents of Bartica’s commercial zone, between Fourth and Ninth streets.
One resident, Ava Abrams, of Third Avenue Bartica and proprietor of the Upper Level Restaurant, was said to have suffered the most damage in the aftermath of the storm.
Speaking with Stabroek News, Abrams said she had fallen into a doze around 9pm and some minutes to 12 she was jerked awake. She discovered that the fan had fallen, and when she attempted to stand, her feet were submerged in a puddle of water.
Luckily, Abrams said, attempts between herself and husband to secure electricity using a generator had failed that night. At the time, there had been a power outage, which one resident said lasted from 7pm on Sunday until about 11am on Monday.
Abrams had related that around 1am on Monday, she and her husband went to check the koker but discovered it was closed. She said their attempts to contact someone in authority failed, but when they passed by the koker a second time, it had been opened. Though the water receded, she said, it took some time to go down.
