By Aaliyah McFarlane
An emergency shelter has been set up at Grove for 42 persons following Tuesday’s river defence breach on the East Bank Demerara (EBD) which swamped homes, inflicting severe losses and leaving residents pressing for compensation.
The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) yesterday said in response to the Sea Dam Breach in the Diamond/Grove Village, EBD, which occurred around 4.55 om on Tuesday it coordinated and established an emergency shelter for the affected residents at Grove Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Lot 123 Grove Village.
The CDC said thirty households are being accommodated comprising 25 children between the ages of five and eighteen and 17 adults who were directly affected by the breach. The CDC said it has conducted a needs assessment of the residents and has maintained communication with representatives of the Diamond/Grove Neighbourhood Democratic Council to ensure that all affected members of the community are attended to and their needs cared for. A total of 80 hampers, inclusive of 50 cleaning supplies and 30 food packages were distributed to residents of the community.
The emergency shelter is being monitored and manned by staff of the CDC. On Tuesday night, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill who visited the scene of the breach said that he was “deeply traumatized” by the losses of the villagers.
Yesterday, the villagers underlined their frustrations during a visit by Stabroek News. They said that they are waiting on the compensation that they have been promised. It has not yet been established what caused the breach but a contractor had been working nearby.
Many of the residents related that their homes were flooded causing damage to electrical appliances, textbooks, foodstuff and furniture. Children were unable to go to school due to their school books and clothing being submerged by the floodwater.
Anil Rampersaud who lives with his wife Saskia and their daughter told this newspaper, “I was driving coming home, not too far from home when my neighbour called me on the phone and she said the yard flood out, come nuff nuff water!” He said by the time he got there around 4:53 pm, his entire house was already flooded.
“We now have to clean up this mess, everything in the house we had damage, like the transformer, fridge, nail tech stuff, TV, clothes, footwear, carpets had to throw away caused it soak soak, recliner damage, my daughter text books”, he lamented.
He acknowledged that government officials had visited and given them cleaning detergents. Saskia also added that they were promised food hampers because all of her groceries had to be thrown away. His father who lives in the same yard but in the upper flat told this newspaper that he is a mechanic and most of his equipment he now has to count as losses.
A resident who owns Sharpy’s Restaurant but who wished to remain anonymous told Stabroek News that “Dem girls called me and say look water in your back yard, so I thought was the pump buss now because I know things like that does happen so I come outside and say that’s minor thing but next two minutes I realized that the water almost by the back door, I say nah boy something ain’t right, so I went over and check the back fence and see water coming over the dam, it was scary, then I went back inside and start putting away everything as much as we could.”
The resident added that two pumps, two freezers and wooden curtains which were in boxes were all damaged. The resident added that a government official delivered detergents to help clean out the area and they are trying their best to sanitise to turn out back to work today.
The Head Teacher of Excellent Playground and Day Care Centre told Stabroek News “I heard the neighbour was saying the dam at the back break away and the water was coming and when I peep out I saw a lot of water start gushing from the back coming, I tried my outmost best to stop the water from coming in from the back. We had sand bags and put them to the back and front of the doors but it wasn’t avoided, water still came in and two of my classrooms got flood, my beds got wet up, the vinolay that was in the classroom we had to pull it up because everything got damaged.”
She added that someone delivered detergents and inquired about the damage. She said that six of her students were at the school awaiting their parents at the time of the breach.
Jenella Benjamin told Stabroek News that she was alerted at around 3:00 pm on Tuesday about the breach. Her neighbour started calling her out. She tried to save as much as she could. “My children textbooks damage, furniture, gas stove, the water came in so fast …the fridge damage, everything everything.”
Teshana Singh who was seen washing her bottom house when this newspaper visited, related, “I went to collect my kids from school and by the time I come back I can’t save nothing inside in the house, the house already flood, all my kids text books everything soak, my new vinolay, I had to send my kids to sleep with our landlord and me and my husband sleep in the same flood out place, my kids were unable to go to school cause everything for them wet up.”
She added that government officials came and checked but didn’t really say much. Her husband told Stabroek News that at the time of the breach he was at work. When he called his wife to inform her that he would be working late he was greeted with the flooding news instead. He added that all of their household appliances and furniture and even foodstuff were destroyed. Sherlanna James told Stabroek News that she lives with her eight children and her fiancé Sherwin Johnson.
“Yesterday I got a call from my kids at 4:00 and they said that the house was under water, but I didn’t take it for anything I seh man see if yall turn off the pipe in the bathroom or anywhere, they say mom is not the pipe and the water is coming rapid, so I leave work and came home and when I reached home everything was covered, the water actually was reaching my upper thigh, up to 3 this morning me and my husband was dipping out water from in the house”, James said.
She added that her wardrobe, drawers, vanity, fridge, chair sets, beds, printers and her wine bar were covered by water. Some of the items had to be thrown away. She was also provided with detergents and hampers.
