No major flooding in Matthews Ridge

A small number of residents were over the weekend affected by flashfloods in Matthews Ridge, North West District, as a result of heavy rainfall.

The Vice-Chairman of the Matarkai Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) Brian Peters told Stabroek News that heavy rainfall began on Saturday evening and continued for an estimated three hours. The rainfall he said, caused water in a nearby creek to rise and partially cover some sections of the area.

However, Peters explained that the situation had been exaggerated since water did not settle on the land as reported by other news outlets, but that the water had receded by the next morning.

“It is not the first time it happened but nobody suffered any great damage as they have been saying. We are on a hillside so the water ran off, it did not settle,” the Vice-Chairman said.

 Meanwhile, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) through the Department of Public Information also refuted the claims that there had been “massive” flooding in Matthews Ridge.

“According to the CDC as it relates to flooding in Matthews Ridge, the initial report is that the there was some flash flooding from a creek. The water was about 1-2 feet high and that about 10 houses were affected located in a flat area. Water has since receded and the affected persons are cleaning up. There have been no reports of losses or major damaged,” DPI reported.