A thunderstorm, considered the worst in recent memory, caused extensive damage and millions in losses for Bartica residents on Sunday night.
The rains lasted for about two to two and a half hours, according to reports, and affected mostly residents of Bartica’s commercial zone, between Fourth and Ninth streets.
According to Bartica’s Mayor Gifford Marshall, Ava Abrams, of Third Avenue Bartica and proprietor of the Upper Level Restaurant, suffered the worst damage he had seen in the aftermath of the storm.
Abrams said she had fallen into a doze around 9pm and some minutes to 12 she was jerked awake. She discovered that the fan had fallen, and when she attempted to stand, her feet were submerged in a puddle of water.
Luckily, Abrams said, attempts between herself and husband to secure electricity using a generator had failed that night. At the time, there had been a power outage, which one resident said lasted from 7pm on Sunday night until about 11am on Monday. (Bartica has been experiencing scheduled blackouts for some time now due to generators failing.)
Abrams said her entire house was flooded; all the clothes placed in the bottom drawers of the wardrobes were damaged, suitcases of clothes were ruined, and fridge has malfunctioned.
A damaged sofa set as well as sewing machine and pressure washer are also on the list of losses she has suffered.
Abrams had related that around 1am on Monday, she and her husband went to check the koker but discovered it was closed. She said their attempts to contact someone in authority failed, but when they passed by the koker a second time, it had been opened. The water, she said, though it cleared, took some time to go down.
Marshall stated yesterday that some residents had indicated the flooding may have been caused by a failure of the sluice door. When the sluice was opened, he said, most of the water receded, save for the water in the alleyways and drains.
The Mayor expressed his concern for the residents affected by the flooding, while noting that an engineer would soon be visiting the town to make a proper assessment of the causes of the disaster.
