-some residents flooded
The spring tide yesterday afternoon swept aside the Abary sluice door in West Berbice causing flooding of some homes and stop logs were to be placed last evening after the tide receded.
Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha during a visit to the area told residents of Catherine, Calcutta and Abary, Region Five who were affected by flooding that an assessment will be done to determine their losses and cleaning supplies and other inputs and foodstuff will be distributed today.
Mustapha was accompanied by a team of officials. According to a video posted on the Ministry’s Facebook page, the minister said that one of the homes had around two feet of water. Some residents noted that their livestock, appliances and cash crops were affected.
Last evening, while the minister was addressing the affected residents, he noted that the water was receding and that stop logs would be inserted in the place of the sluice as a temporary measure.
The Ministry of Agriculture said that swift action from the Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary-Agricultural Authority (MMA-ADA) saw immediate mobilization of equipment to block major channels in Burma in order to prevent floodwater from entering rice cultivation areas.
Speaking with the residents yesterday, the Minister said, “… I’m speaking to the CDC (Civil Defence Commission) to arrange some cleaning supplies and foodstuff to come into the village. In the morning that will come.”
In relation to the appliances and livestock and kitchen gardens, he said “I will do a report and speak to the President today to see what kind of help can be given to the residents.”
To have this done, the minister urged residents to return to their home so his team could visit the affected residents’ home to assess the situation.
One resident of Calcutta told the Minister that her yard and entire bottom house, including her kitchen was flooded, “To enter the entrance, I had to take off my pants from work, to go into the yard to collect my children. The whole bottom house; the water is flowing into the kitchen.”
Another resident of the same village said: “my whole yard is flooded and the water affected my garden and livestock.” While another resident exclaimed, “My music set, my refrigerator; my everything is affected by the water. I had to bail out the water…”
Several other kokers have suffered damage during spring tides this year. Steel doors are meant to be installed.
