On a day like today, 20 years ago, many residences and businesses along Guyana’s eastern coast were inundated, having been affected by massive flooding in the country’s biggest natural disaster to date. In its wake was loss of homes and income, and death by drowning and water-borne diseases.
The economic fallout was estimated at about US$465 million or some 60 percent of the country’s GDP.
The flood resulted from the overtopping of the weakened East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) embankments caused by record breaking rainfall that started on December 24, 2004 and continued into the first week of February 2005.
Residents in Georgetown and on the East Coast Demerara woke up on the morning of January 15 to find their yards flooded. Those living in ground level homes stepped out of bed and into water. It was a nightmarish situation. People lost household and personal belongings and some were forced to evacuate and seek refuge in schools and other public buildings converted to shelters and find higher ground for themselves, their pets, poultry and cattle. Many lost their livestock and farm produce to the flood waters.
Is it likely for Guyana to experience another disaster of this magnitude?
Former chief executive officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) of the Ministry of Agriculture Ravi Narine said, “Guyana is making great efforts and is implementing an effective programme to adapt to the changing climate especially due to higher rainfall values and sea level rise.”
The NDIA now manages the affairs of the conservancy.
Narine, who retired in 2007, has a company, SRKN’gineering Consultancy, which is very involved in maintaining the integrity of the conservancy as the contractor that oversees the ongoing project to raise the level of the embankment to ensure that what happened 20 years ago does not recur.
At present four contractors are working on raising the level of the dams that store the water. The raised embankment will be tested during rainfall periods which are expected to increase during the current La Nina spell.
One of the oldest employees of the NDIA, Ashook Deonarine, now 73, who worked at the conservancy in 2005 and has institutional memory of what occurred then. Given the developments that have taken place since, he told Sunday Stabroek that only an act of God could bring down the conservancy dams and let another flood of the 2005 magnitude happen again.
“A lot of work has gone into building up the embankments since and the Hope Canal was dug to let out water from the conservancy once the water level threatens to overflow with heavy rainfall,” Deonarine who lives in Anns Grove said.
“We have a lot of young people working here who are dedicated to their job. They were children when the flood took place. Right now, I am the only old staff who was here when the flooding took place, but I cannot give my mouth liberty to say any and everything. Others have resigned or they passed away. I love my job.
“If something should go wrong, I personally, Ashook Deonarine, I am convinced, it wouldn’t be our mistake. But we cannot predict God’s work. Remember the 40 days of rain in the days of Noah?”
He noted there are now several outlets from the conservancy that drain the water out quickly. “We have workers here 24 hours a day and they take regular readings of the gauge. In 2005 when we had the flood. We had no equipment as such. After the 2005 flood we started to get machines,” he said.
The NDIA patrols the conservancy everyday. If anything threatens the dam the patrols report it to the authority for action to be taken. They also check the structure regularly. “There is a lot more visible inspection and staff are more vigilant. It is difficult to see any unforeseen incident taking place,” he added.
Dam to road
A recent visit to the scenic and pleasantly calm waters of the conservancy from the Virginia, Mahaica end where the NDIA has its offices revealed a vision like a tourism attraction poster. During that visit, residents of several communities that were affected, including Buxton and Enterprise, declared that they never, in their lifetime, want to experience such a flood again.
In 2005, to access the conservancy, one walked through a muddy track in a bushy area and over a plank to get across a trench to the conservancy. Now, one can drive along a well-built road right up to the conservancy. The conservancy is 200 square miles and covers a length of 75 miles from Mahaica to Land of Canaan on the East Bank Demerara. Workers and visitors can travel anywhere along the conservancy in a four-wheel drive vehicle from Virginia, Mahaica to Land of Canaan.
“I remember when we got the flood. There was no road, just a dam,” Deonarine recalled.
According to Deonarine, going into the conservancy to fish and hunt has changed from 2005 to now.
“Fishermen used to go in and come out as they like. That doesn’t happen now. They must get permission and present a pass from the Ministry of Agriculture. Fishermen are issued with a monthly pass and if they do anything wrong or go against the rules in the conservancy their passes will be revoked. This is to ensure that the dam remains secured,” he said.
The conservancy teems with many types of freshwater fish such as lukanani, yarrow and piranha.
At the time of the flood, Narine was adamant that there was no breach in the conservancy dams and the flooding was due to overtopping. Other engineers speculated that some breaches or seepage might have taken place and contributed to the disaster.
Sunday Stabroek understands that since the floods the water level is monitored by a gauge to ensure that the water level is kept to a certain point and additional water is let out.
“The Hope Canal, from Dutch Fort to Hope, was built to save the East Coast from further flooding. The canal opens regularly to let out water. We have a gauge that we monitor 24 hours a day and when the water reaches a certain point, we let out the water. Once we see the level and it threatens the dam, we open Hope Canal. Flooding that also occurred on parts of East Bank Demerara to let out water from the Land of Canaan end cannot happen up the East Bank anymore because of the many outlets we now have. Dutch Fort now has an eight-door sluice compared to three doors previously,” Deonarine said.
There is an established office at Dutch Fort and a phone call alerts Dutch Fort to open the sluice doors to let out excess water.
Water from the conservancy is supplied to rice and cash crop farmers.
At the time of the flooding, Deonarine was one who assisted both government officials, members of the opposition and the media who traversed the area to get a first-hand look at what was taking place.
“No one was stopped from coming here but after then it was restricted,” he said.
Now, he said, “I cannot take you in because you must get permission, and you have to speak to the right people about what is going on.”
At the time of the flood, GuysSuCo, which oversaw the conservancy, had a small office on the site. That has since been dismantled. After the NDIA took charge, a bigger office was built to accommodate a fully staffed unit.
Recovery
The overtopping of the conservancy in 2005 caused flooding in residential areas and farmlands from Georgetown to Mahaica. Water remained on the land in some areas for over three weeks and was between two to nine feet high. The flooding was compounded by spring tides and clogged drainage canals. People moved about in boats and floatable objects, including the tops of cars and minibuses.
Four deaths by drowning were recorded and another 30 fatalities were related to water-borne diseases including leptospirosis. Among the fatalities was a reporter, Joseph Thomas, who had assisted in delivering hampers from the media house where he was employed.
During the flood, it was heartrending to see people displaced and at the mercy of the elements to sustain themselves. The Railway Embankment Road was the highest point in many places and people took the opportunity to cook there when the opportunity arose.
While some communities received relief in the early stages, others in the backlands like Enterprise were without relief initially. Some people who experienced the flooding have since died, some migrated overseas or to other parts of the country, but the majority have remained on their land and rebuilt their lives.
Apart from food hampers distributed by government and kind-hearted donors, farmers received help from the government to restart cultivation.
Many residents said, “it was an act of God,” so they never expected any compensation, and they never received any help.
Their experiences during the flood are still vivid in their minds; how they rebuilt will be told in subsequent writings. However, many people in certain communities do not want to tell their version because they fear political victimisation.
