Heavy rain and wind cause damage along the coast

A sign at the East Bank Public Road Industrial Site that fell as a result of the heavy winds (Orlando Charles photo)
A sign at the East Bank Public Road Industrial Site that fell as a result of the heavy winds (Orlando Charles photo)

Communities along Guyana’s coast were yesterday faced with heavy rainfall and wind storms which led to the collapsing of a house and damaged roofs for some.

The rainfall which started during the early morning hours yesterday was accompanied by strong winds which caused the roofs of houses and buildings along the coast and some inland areas to suffer damage. A house at Number 67 Village, Corentyne, collapsed due to the heavy winds and the Guy-America store at Zeeburg, West Coast Demerara, also suffered infrastructural damage. Stabroek News attempted to contact the store manager without success.

In addition, sign boards, street signs and utility wire and poles were twisted, bent, and felled by the harsh weather.

The Civic Defence Commission (CDC) told this newspaper that while communities in Regions One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six and some inland as far as Linden, experienced the phenomenon, other communities in sporadic locations faced the same fate.

The CDC reported that persons from Lamaha Park, Vryheid’s Lust, and Success on the East Coast Demerara, contacted the commission about damage to their roofs. While persons from the Essequibo Coast and Linden made similar complaints. The commission said that some flooding was also reported.

The commission noted that aside from damaged roofs and the collapsed house at Corentyne, there was mostly minor damage to infrastructure and power lines.

Due to the heavy rains, the utility provider, Guy-ana Power and Light, took action and cut off power in some communities but by mid-morning most communities had been reconnected.