With the COVID-19 pandemic still a threat to large gatherings, additional shelters will be sought by the Region Nine Regional Democratic Council (RDC) as it prepares for the upcoming rainy season, Regional Chairman Bryan Allicock said yesterday.
Allicock told Stabroek News that at the moment the region is currently putting systems in place to address possible flooding from the raining season, which he said, seems to have commenced already.
“The rainfalls seem to be here because the rivers are coming up and reports from Boa Vista say the Rio Branco is rising too. So we will have to look at ways in which we monitor the flooding and the need for shelters,” the Regional Chairman said.
According to Allicock, who met with the Region’s Risk Management Committee yesterday, while they will have to seek out additional shelters they will also have to put guidelines in place to monitor the movement of people staying at the shelters during this pandemic.
During the flooding period, many households are forced to evacuate and temporarily stay in shelters provided by the region as their homes are inundated with water.
“We will have to look at having less families in one shelter and look at how they move about to possibly prevent the spread of the virus,” the Regional Chairman explained.
During the rainy season the Upper Takatu-Upper Essequibo Region is severely affected by flooding as creeks and rivers rise due to excess intake of water. This results in severe overtopping throughout the region and threatens farmlands also.
Excess water will flow from Boa Vista, a Brazilian town about 133 kilometres from Lethem situated on the bank of the Rio Branco, into the Takatu River, one of its main tributaries.
Roads connecting Lethem to other communities are likely to be cut off by floodwaters, making it near impossible for vehicles to travel those roads which are reduced to mud.
Farmers across the region risk losing their crops and in the past many have reported that their crops, especially cassava, would rot after being underwater for a few days.
