After weeks of being flooded, water has completely receded from communities in the Pomeroon River and the Region Two Council is currently verifying and assessing the damage left behind, Chairman Vilma Da Silva said.
Speaking with Stabroek News yesterday, Da Silva said that in the aftermath of the deep flooding, the regional body received numerous reports of losses and as such they are in the process of verifying and working out a plan to determine what assistance can be given.
She noted too that within the past week, members of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency-led Detailed Damage Sector Analysis (DDSA) visited the region and conducted their independent investigations. She expressed hope that from that report government will provide assistance to flood-affected communities.
According to Da Silva, the region continues to distribute relief hampers to affected families and has been frequently distributing water to persons in need.
Farmlands and homes in the Pomeroon River for the past weeks had been covered in floodwaters. Water levels in the region climbed to unexpected heights and caused major disruption to livelihoods.
The floods have been called the worst in approximately four decades and for most of the villagers it is the first time they have had such an experience.
Communities like Siriki, Karawab and others in the Upper Pomeroon, and Akawini Creek in the Lower Pomeroon were amongst the hardest hit by the flooding.
Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam), Devanand Ramdatt, had said “We’ve never seen anything like this before. The rate at which the entire Pomeroon was flooded, is something that even the elderly people of Pomeroon are also saying that they’ve never seen anything like this before. Apart from the Pomeroon, two Amerindian communities, Kabakaburi and St. Monica… also received hampers. We’re in the process of securing more hampers.”
In Karawab, water levels were close to 14 feet high, and villagers said that they were surviving on hampers distributed by the government during a recent visit.
Farmers have said that they are uncertain as to when they will be able to return to farming and where they will find the finances to restart.
During President Irfaan Ali’s visit to the flood-hit communities he promised “to do everything to secure back your livelihood. We are going to do everything to get you back to the farmland; we are going to do everything to help back the household.”
