The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) has said that over 2,800 households were affected by flooding since the start of the year, with those in Region Two being most severely affected.
A report compiled by acting Preparedness and Response Manager Captain Salim October was released by the CDC on Sunday, the Department of Information (DPI) yesterday reported.
According to DPI, the report states that the flooding which occurred during the period of January 1st to January 9th severely affected over 2,800 households with 1,200 in Region Two, 1,590 in Region Four and 15 in Region Ten. The reports says that Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) was the most affected, whereas Nabaclis in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) recorded the most affected homes, with 1,000 affected households.
The Commission notes that its priorities over the next 24 hours are the distribution of sandbags and cleaning hampers to affected residents through the RDCs and NDCS, and to monitor the weather across the regions in collaboration with the Hydromet Office
The communities were impacted by water entering homes while livestock and domestic animals were in distress and crops inundated, the Commission reported. A total of 2,705 cleaning hampers were distributed to affected homes, while eight water distribution activities were carried out by the Commission.
The CDC said that due to COVID-19, several community residents turned to farming to sustain their livelihoods and this was affected by the floods. It further said that following assessments done by the CDC, it was revealed that during the period of the flooding there was above normal high tides and excessive rainfall across northern Guyana.
Teams were deployed by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture to several communities as concerns began to rise about potential disease outbreaks and impacts to livelihoods dependent on agriculture. During this activity, it was found that some of the issues which affected communities were blockages in community drains, flooded areas being lower than the waterways, the non-maintenance of river dams in abandoned farms which allowed water from the river to flow into the low-lying farmlands, and the deplorable state of some roadways which led to them being poorly drained, the release states.
Some of its recommendations included clearing of drains and maintenance by residents and the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs), the installation of drainage pumps, and the construction of elevated farmhouses, chicken pens and other structures.
The report also highlighted the response by the CDC, which included gathering key data to inform assessments in critically affected areas, issuing flood and prevention alerts to Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs), municipalities and NDCs, public information updates and mobilising cleaning resources to distribute to affected communities.
The report noted that there were also responses by other agencies, including drainage assessments in affected communities by the National Drainage & Irrigation Authority (NDIA), and the monitoring of pumps and sluices by regional and city engineers. Municipalities, RDCs and NDCs will continue to conduct assessments and update the CDC, it said.
