Chronicle of more recent floods

Dear Editor,

1. The year 2013 opened with flooding on the East Coast Demerara in January. Minister of Works Robeson Benn had told reporters that the flooding was a result of higher than usual spring tides, measuring 3.15 metres, and high waves striking the seawall between Turkeyen and Sheriff Street, which is “undergoing cyclical erosion.”
2. In January-February there were also floods in sections of Kingston, Georgetown, in February; the cause was that the koker attendant left the koker door ajar, although an engineer who preferred not to be named refuted that. He said that “the door was blocked” and while the problem was being rectified, the water got in and flooded the area.
3. On March 13, 2013 there was again a failure at Kingston; the koker door broke around minutes to 5pm, according to the attendant, and water from the Demerara River rushed through nearby areas. The attendant also said that the door broke due to the force of the water that was hitting it. Also in March large waves overtopped the Ocean View, Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara seawall, leaving some residents counting millions in losses in what they said was the worst flooding they had seen in the area.
4. In April 2013 there were several incidents of flooding on the East and West Coasts Demerara and the Essequibo Coast. Residents of several coastal communities woke to find their yards and homes under several inches of muddy seawater after windy conditions in the Atlantic propelled 1.5 metre swells, riding on 3.11 metre tides over various sea defence structures. According to Minister Benn, the West Bank Demerara villages of Dem Amstel and Leonora were affected by the flooding while areas between Liliendaal and Vlissingen Road, along the Rupert Craig Highway, were also affected. Stabroek News also reported that the West Bank village of Uitvlugt, as well as several coastal communities along the Essequibo River were under water.
5. In June; there was severe flooding at Den Amstel on the West Coast Demerara. Residents woke up to about eight inches of floodwater in their yards after a problem with one of the pulleys on the koker door prevented its closure during a pre-dawn high tide. When approached, the sluice attendant, who asked not to be named, said that the problem with the door was a simple one that could be fixed easily. He did not want to cast blame but added that he had been calling on the relevant authorities to provide lights for the koker since it was difficult to see anything at night.
6. In July 2013 there was flooding in Albouystown, Georgetown, and again in October 2013 the residents called on the authorities to fix a broken koker in the area which had caused the flooding of hundreds of homes over the past month. Paro Ali, a businesswoman in the area, explained that the flooding had been affecting livelihoods. Residents on Poker Street called on those in authority to do something about the defective koker, which they claimed was not functioning properly and should have been rehabilitated several years ago. According to the residents they had been promised that the koker would have been rebuilt about ten years ago, but to date nothing had been done.
7. Months of flooding left a farming community in distress on the East Bank Demerara when on August 14, 2013 it was reported by the residents that owing to a revetment project initiated by the Ministry of Works in relation to an eroded culvert in the area, the backlands of the community were being severely flooded. The project reportedly began in January and was slated to be completed three months later, but was in its eighth month at that point and was still far from completion.
8. In September Tuschen, West Coast Demerara, was flooded out on September 11, 2013. The main canal that drains the housing scheme was clogged with weeds, resulting in the slow runoff of the floodwaters. During the past rainy season in August, residents had called for the drains to be cleared but this was not done.
9. October November 2013 incessant rain left the city under several inches of water, closing schools, shutting businesses and causing millions of dollars in damage. In Albouystown, one of the worst affected areas, residents were livid, stating that the magnitude of the flooding could have been prevented had the drains been cleaned on a regular basis. The residents alleged that the flooding was greater than the 2005 Great Flood
10. In November, despite assurances from the Minister of Agriculture that we were ready for the rainy season, many parts of Georgetown and elsewhere were severely flooded forcing the government to issue a special flood advisory on November 27, 2013. The advisory cautioned citizens to keep out of the water and to do many other things to protect themselves.
11. The interior was not spared from the incompetence either and at Bartica (above sea level) there was flooding in 2013.

Last week’s newspaper again tells us that nothing has changed, and that a koker door at Peter’s Hall failed, plunging the residents into a state of despair as they watched their property destroyed. They are left with no help in sight, and no proper legal or political system to demand compensation. What touched me the most was the young woman Amanda Kissoon who was raising her young child and trying to better herself by going to school part time, and who now has to stop school and hustle for a job. Can’t some organisation help this poor woman? I am myself prepared to donate some money to help her. No wonder our suicide rate is so high; our people live in daily despair because of an incompetent and uncaring government preoccupied with filling their own pockets and not performing the function which we are paying them to do.

Every case I have quoted above was caused by poor maintenance and neglect of our existing infrastructure and could have been prevented. It was my opinion that nothing new had to be done or built; we simply had to keep what’s there working efficiently and keep our sea defences up to date.

The above research was done by me at the request of the Leader of the Opposition, who was forming a committee to disclose why all of this flooding was going on.

Yours faithfully,

Tony Vieira