The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) will assist 25 Linden families with materials to reconstruct the roofs of their homes which were damaged in a severe storm on Friday.
CDC’s Director General, Lieutenant Colonel Kester Craig yesterday told Stabroek News, that materials such as galvanized sheets, nails and hammers will be distributed to families who were severely affected by the storm.
He stated that the materials should begin to arrive in the township no later than Wednesday. The CDC will begin to procure the materials today.
According to Craig, they have been working with the Regional Democratic Council of Region 10 and community leaders to assess the damage left behind by the furious storm. He noted that during the assessment they were able to identify the 25 families who were severely hit by the storm.
Just after 3pm on Friday, the storm ripped through the community and lasted for approximately half an hour. Residents recounted that they experienced heavy winds, which was followed by rain, lightning and thunder. No fatalities or serious injuries were reported but damage to homes was extensive.
Region Ten Chairman Renis Morian on Saturday in a statement to the press appealed for assistance for approximately 100 families, who he said were affected one way or another in the storm.
He had made a request for cleaning materials, roofing sheets and food hampers to assist the families.
Craig yesterday told Stabroek News that while no request was made to the CDC for food hampers, the CDC stands ready to assist. He however noted that they will have to conduct a further assessment to determine what is needed by the families.
“The damage done is severe and I figure that [the cost] will be in the vicinity of millions [of dollars]. We are seeking assistance to help some 100 families who would have been severely affected by the storm. Therefore, as the Regional Chairman, I am humbly appealing to the general public to come forward and lend whatever assistance that they can give to assist those severely affected at this time,” Morian said in a statement issued by the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) on Saturday.
In the aftermath of the storm, affected residents were left counting their losses with many having suffered damage to the roofs of their homes. Some homes and streets in the town were flooded but after the storm ebbed, the water began to recede. The streets were said to be flooded with over two feet of water.
As the weather rapidly changed from a sunny afternoon to a “hurricane-like” one, persons took out their phones and began recording.
Stabroek News understands that persons, whose homes sustained damage, had to create makeshift roofs by using tarpaulins. Some persons said that during the storm, they observed the galvanised sheets and supporting structures from their roofs floating and subsequently landing either in a neighbour’s yard or some distance away from their home.
According to the RDC statement, a number of residents from Moblissa, Blueberry Hill, MacKenzie, Silvertown, and other areas were affected by the storm.
An emergency council meeting is being organised for today by the RDC so that a properly coordinated approach can be taken in addressing the matter, Morian said on Saturday.
