Regions remain in grips of floods
Despite a respite in some areas, floodwater remained at significant levels in most of the country’s regions yesterday as authorities continued to mobilise help for victims.
Residential and farm lands along the riverine villages in regions 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are the worst affected and the respective Regional Chairs have concluded that these communities will face economic hardships in the coming months as the floods have decimated the livelihoods of many.
Region Two Chairperson Vilma Da Silva reported that homes and yards are flooded in the Upper Pomeroon River area, while mainly farmlands are affected in the lower Pomeroon River section.
“At least five families had to be relocated from the Karawab Village because of the height of water. We had to find shelters there for these families,” she stated as she pointed out that neighbouring villages, like Kabakaburi and St Monica, are also affected.
In some areas, she noted, the water has risen to 8 feet.
As a result, Da Silva said many residents had requested higher lands for relocation when they met with President Irfaan Ali during his visit to the region on Sunday.
While addressing residents, Ali assured that the government will be doing “…everything to secure back your livelihood. We are going to do everything to get you back to the farmland.”
Ali visited nine riverine communities along the Pomeroon River to assess the impact of rising floodwaters that have been caused by heavy and intense rainfall over the last two weeks.
The villages included Karawab, St Monica’s Mission, Kabakaburi, Abrams Creek, Siriki, Jacklow, Martindale, Marlborough, and Hackney.
According to Da Silva, on the lower Pomeroon they are looking to improve the drainage system and capacity as there isn’t effective drainage in some communities.
“Some of the kokers here are not working fully and when the tide drops, in the river it is still high on land so we have to improve and flush out the drains. But also we have to look at a system that will help us because at the lower end all the water from upper Pomeroon gravitates to us, so we need a system that will work,” she stated.
She added that the region through the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) has been distributing food and sanitation hampers to affected households across the Pomeroon.
“We are committed to assisting these families because they have lost their livelihoods. All the cash crops are dead and longterm crops are dying,” she said.
Da Silva added that with
all the drainage and irrigation pumps working on the coast, there has been limited flooding there.
Devastation
In Region Seven, Middle and Upper Mazuruni continue to be devastated by flooding as water levels have been climbing. Regional Chairman Kenneth Williams yesterday said that communities like Waramadong, Kamarang and Kako, in the
Upper Mazaruni, remain inundated and hundreds of farms are waterlogged as are dozens of homes.
However, he said Quebenang and Jawalla are the two worst affected communities in the district.
With the villages such as Isseneru and Kangaruma, in the Middle Mazaruni,
exposed to the extreme high tides and many businesses and homes inundated, Williams said they are aiming to bring flood relief to those communities by mid-week. Two persons have opted to move into the shelter set up at the Kangaruma Health Centre.
According to the Chairman,
the region’s greatest concern is that villages in both the upper and lower Mazaruni continue to report “economic devastation” of their livelihoods and that the floodwater in most communities has not receded significantly. “As