The Region Ten Regional Democratic Council (RDC) has dispatched a medical team to Lamp Island, Sub Region Two, Upper Berbice, to assess rising floodwaters, which have residents on edge.
According to a press release form the RDC, residents have expressed fear over continued rising floodwaters due to continuing rainfall.
The statement reported Regional Chairman Renis Morian as saying that there are some 220 residents in Lamp Island and that the region, over the years, has been warning them about the dangers of living there. They have since ignored those warnings and continued to live there.
However, Morian said that recognising that they are part of his district, he and his council have sought to provide the necessary support and assistance to them in ensuring their safety.
The statement explained that following the initial reports Morian received, he ordered the Regional Health Services Department under the Regional Health Officer (RHO), Dr Pansy Armstrong and the Regional Medical Committee to dispatch a team to the area today to assess the situation.
Morian said that the RDC is closely monitoring the situation and that it is prepared to take whatever action is needed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the residents.
“We have noticed that the water in the Berbice River continues to rise significantly and in the interest of residents’ safety and health, we are sending a rapid response team to Lamp Island with medical supplies. While there, they are going to objectively assess the health and social conditions there so that the RDC can take appropriate, and most importantly, timely actions,” the statement quoted Morian as saying.
The statement noted that he stressed that he and his councillors are continuing to monitor other areas within Region Ten and declared that they are standing by to take appropriate actions to ensure that communities affected by flooding as a result of continuous rainfall can be protected. “There are several communities that we have been monitoring and over the years we have noticed that based on the geographic location of Lamp Island here in Sub Region Two, there they continue to be affected by significant rising flood waters, thus we are closely monitoring them,” the statement further quoted Morian as saying.
