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High tides swamp West Demerara

-authorities mobilising sand bags

A deeply flooded yard [DPI photo)
A deeply flooded yard (DPI photo)

Spring tides this morning swamped parts of the West Demerara and the authorities are scrambling hundreds of sand bags to bolster defences for when the high water returns at around 3.30 pm.

According to the Department of Public Information (DPI) the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and Region Three Administration are working to mobilise 1000 sandbags for distribution to residents of Blankenburg, Den Amstel, Fellowship, Cornelia Ida, Anna Catherina and Uitvlugt/Oceanview.

 

 

According to the Director-General of CDC, Lt. Col Kester Craig the high tide will occur around 3.30 pm at a height of 3.6 metres.

Craig, according to DPI,  is advising residents living in the areas to immediately secure the entrances to the lower flat of their homes with sandbags and to lift furniture, appliances, electronics and other valuables household items. Residents are also being advised  to seal off electrical outlets which are less than one foot above ground level.

This advisory follows earlier flooding that occurred in the villages just after 4:00hrs this morning.

A high tide of 3.42 metres, caused overtopping and DPI said that some residents were affected when approximately one foot of water entered their lower flats.

Cleaning supplies have been distributed to the affected residents and the clean-up exercise has already begun as the water has receded from most of the homes, DPI said.

Teams from the CDC and the Ministry of Public Infrastructure are on the ground checking for possible breaches.

The Ministry of Public Infrastructure on Wednesday advised the general public to take all necessary precautions during the spring tides period of September 26, 2019 to October 2, 2019.The predicted tide indicates above normal levels for this impending period. The Sea and River Defence Department considers the following areas to be particularly susceptible to possible flooding as a result of storm surges which may induce overtopping of sea/river defence structures:

• Pomeroon River Banks

• San Souci to Sarah and Maria’s Pleasure to Meerzorg, Wakenaam Island

• Cane Field/Amsterdam, Endeavour/Blenheim, Cane Garden – Leguan Island

• Windsor Forest to DeWillem, West Coast Demerara, Parika Market Area and Salem to Sparta, E.B.E

• Water Street, Georgetown, Helena # 1 & 2, Mahaica.

• Fairfield/Dantzig, Mahaicony.

• Wellington Park/Tarlogie, Corentyne

 

The highest tides are expected to be on Sunday September 29, 2019 at 4:38 pm at a height of3.36 metres and onMonday September 30, 2019 at5:18pmat a height of3.32 metres.

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High tide floods several West Coast Demerara villages

 

Several villages on the West Coast Demerara were earlier today flooded as a result off a tide that was more than nine feet high.

The  Civil Defence Commission (CDC) says “there was no breach of the seawalls. The water has begun to recede”.

However, water over-topped the sea defence causing floods at  Blankenburg, Den Amstel, Fellowship, Cornelia Ida, Anna Catherina and Uitvlugt Oceanview.

The CDC says  many residents in these villages were affected with approximately one foot of water in the lower flats of their homes.

The Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Region Three administration were mobilized to help residents.

Cleaning agents and other supplies were dispatched to the affected villages.

Cleaning agents and other supplies about to be distributed to flood-affected residents on the West Coast Demerara.

The CDC has warned that another slightly higher tide was expected Saturday afternoon at about 3:58 . “ This will be higher than the last high tide earlier this morning and is likely to result in more over-topping,” the CDC said.

The height was forecast to be 3.31 metres.

The Civil Defence Commission advises residents in the affected areas “to immediately secure the entrances to the lower flat of their homes with sandbags and to elevate furniture, appliances, electronics and other valuables household items. Residents should also seal off electrical outlets which are less than one foot above ground level.”

Before Saturday’s flood, the Ministry of Public Infrastructure had issued a flood advisory.

K

PPPC will continue to cause floods of successful businesses, progress and other improvements/betterment like they did from 1992 to 2015.

PNCR/AFC will assist with causing flooding of property, land and people's possessions with perhaps a firm focus on other things.

FM
Drugb posted:

There were many here like cain, dj , mars and others who blame ppp for the floods, these same voices are not silent. 

Correct, we not silent. Dem boys say you does flood your pants because yo full of it.

cain
kp posted:
cain posted:
Bibi Haniffa posted:

Damn PPP still causing floods.

Again, you correct!

Why don't you shut you rass. The place flood what can you do to help.

I say Ahhhh Fk it, send em a bucket.

Hear nuh, ask Bibi she know nuff nuff stuff, might not always be right though.

cain
Last edited by cain

Work intensifies to alleviate WCD flooding

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A section of the flooded seaward side of Den Amstel Village (Delano Williams photo)

Heavy-duty machinery belonging to BK International have been mobilsed and immediately put into action to shore up areas on the West Coast of Demerara (WCD) affected by overtopping of the river defence on Saturday.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Frederick Flatts said due to the work done, including at Hibiscus Garden Place, a gated community at Blankenburg, the area was not affected by the afternoon high tide.

He noted that the NDIA was lending assistance to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MoPI) as it usually does whenever there is flooding.
Guyana Chronicle on a visit Saturday morning observed that the Den Amstel Woman’s Development Association New Horizon Day Care Centre and Play Group, the Community Centre Ground, the Ebenezer Congregational Church and a play school in the church yard and several residences were inundated.

Pockets of villagers were seen on the roadside or closer to the seawall or merely gathered near their homes watching as the waves overtopped the wall and the water gushed into the drains.
One villager expressed concern for the losses that the Day Care Centre and Play Group may have, since according to her, the building has a washing machine, barrels with books and refrigerator, among other things.

Health Administrator of Region Three Kathleen Armstrong, who resides at Den Amstel, told the Guyana Chronicle that when she visited earlier in the day, the Den Amstel Police Station, the Post Office and several homes in the village, as well the communities of Blankenburg, Fellowship, Cornelia Ida, Anna Catherina, Oceanview and Uitvlugt were under water from the early morning high tide.

According to her, some residents complained that they had knee-high water in their homes but most of it drained off by midday. The flooding also affected a planned burial of a resident at the Den Amstel cemetery. The burial, residents say took place at Stewartville instead.

K
cain posted:
Drugb posted:

There were many here like cain, dj , mars and others who blame ppp for the floods, these same voices are not silent. 

Correct, we not silent. Dem boys say you does flood your pants because yo full of it.

How come yuh giving dem pnc bais a pass hey when yuh rass blame ppp fuh 100 year flood? Dem must be supplying yuh with a steady does in yuh old age. 

FM
Drugb posted:
cain posted:
Drugb posted:

There were many here like cain, dj , mars and others who blame ppp for the floods, these same voices are not silent. 

Correct, we not silent. Dem boys say you does flood your pants because yo full of it.

How come yuh giving dem pnc bais a pass hey when yuh rass blame ppp fuh 100 year flood? Dem must be supplying yuh with a steady does in yuh old age. 

Yall two use the same comp too or just each others handles?

cain

Severe flooding in some West Dem communities

-as high tides continue to batter coast

Waves crashing over the seawall at Den Amstel, West Coast Demerara yesterday. [Shamar Meusa photo)
Waves crashing over the seawall at Den Amstel, West Coast Demerara yesterday. (Shamar Meusa photo)

Spring tides continued to batter sea defences across the coast yesterday with flooding reported in almost every coastal region as the authorities scrambled to respond with hundreds of persons at risk. 

“The current unprecedented high tide has affected several communities in Regions 2,3,4,5, and 6. The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) through its 24 hours National Emergency Monitoring System (NEMS) is monitoring the situation and is in contact with all the Regional Administrations that have activated their Regional Disaster Management System and are conducting assessments and updating the commission,” CDC Director-General, Lieuten-ant Colonel Kester Craig, said in a post on his Facebook page last night, hours after the tides returned with a vengeance to batter communities along the coast.

The above normal high tides are expected to continue until Wednesday.

 

Or

K

Stabroek Market closed today because of overtopping

Stabroek Market will be closed today to members of the public because of overtopping caused by spring tides yesterday.

A release yesterday from the  Mayor and Councillors of the City of Georgetown said that today the Council will only allow stallholders access to the Market using the middle gate located at the southern entrance to the Market.

“The Georgetown Municipality sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused and wishes to assure the general public that the Council is working assiduously to restore normalcy to the operations of the Market”, the release said.

The Council also noted that the high tide warning is still in effect.

K

Princess Green BucktaBoy wrote:
We have confidence in Jagdeo
. He will bring us out of poverty. He will stop the rain and flooding. He can stop the sun from shining. He will is our Mahatma. That's why we are voting for him.

Should Granger call on Jagdeo for help?

FM

Sea defence breach at Danzig causing trouble for Reg. 5 residents

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Sahadeo Ramcharan, a farmer, points to a plot of his land which was inundated because of the breach

–NDIA moves in to address it, gov’t sends in other tangible support

FARMERS and the average resident of communities within Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) are affected by flooding which was caused by a breach in the sea defence at Danzig.
“My house get water, my garden in shambles, my livestock deh all over the place…I bin plant meh lil garden and meh lil pepper gone too,” said Gavin McGarrell, a resident of one of the flood-affected villages, Rebecca’s Lust.

McGarrell, who has been living in Rebecca’s Lust for over 20 years, said his community has never been flooded to that extent before.

The floods are as a result of above-normal high tides predicted at approximately 3.31 meters. About 300 metres of the sea defence has been compromised so water is continuously flowing through.

“We never see nothing like this before…everything gone…although meh got it bad, those farmers got it worse because some of them lose everything,” said McGarrell in an invited comment on Monday.

The state of Annika Bissoon’s yard on Monday

He said water started flowing over the structure two days ago and because of the heavy inundation not much could have been done to fix it immediately.
A farmer from Danzig, Sahadeo Ramcharan, said he lost acres of rice and most of his land was damaged by the salt water.

“I cannot plant back rice anymore because of the salt water…everything finish… all me years living here, I never see this place flood like this,” said Ramcharan, adding that he also lost his livestock in the flood.

Aside from the loss he suffered from the rice crops, he averaged his other losses to be about $3-$4 million.

“This thing only happening for two days now and I done lose so much I ain’t want think what would happen if it continues,” said the farmer.

A resident of Rebecca’s Lust, Annika Bissoon, shared similar sentiments, noting that the flood was unexpected so persons were unable to save most of their things.
Bissoon was joined by a group of farmers who all expressed their concern about what was going on.

Residents and farmers had an opportunity to talk about their losses with officials of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA), Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) and others.

Government Member of Parliament (MP), Jennifer Wade, said Government was aware of the situation and systems were being put in place to deal with the effects of the breach.
“Although we are now working to alleviate the problem, we were aware of the situation before and we had put systems in place, but the contractor did not do the work urgently so the unfinished work got caught with the high tide.

“I am very perturbed by what is going on…we had made the money available but the contractor could not finish the work,” said Wade.

She said it was a great disappointment on the part of the contractor because farmers and residents were suffering.

NDIA MOBILISED
Another high tide was predicted for Monday, but the NDIA had started to mobilise machines to fix the breach.

This was according to a reliable source, who said NDIA had started working on the breach early in the day, but deployed additional machines in order to get the work done faster.
As the authority worked to fix the breach, other authorities such as the GLDA provided tangible support to farmers. The authority distributed 500 bags of chicken feed to farmers. Residents also received support in the form of cleaning supplies, water and food supplies.
It was reported that the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) had deployed a five-person team to the communities of Danzig, Columbia, Glazier’s Lust, Fair Field, High Dam and Propect to assess the situation and render much-needed assistance.

“A rapid assessment in collaboration with the Regional Democratic Council, Region Five, was conducted across the communities and found that seven families experienced floodwaters in their homes. It was noted that several small scale subsistence farms, livestock, including poultry, were severely affected. Further, over 10 rice cultivated plots were inundated with saltwater,” the CDC Director-General, Kester Craig said as he gave a synopsis of the situation on the ground.

The CDC, he reported, provided the seven families with cleaning hampers to ensure that they were able to clean and return their homes to normalcy after the high tides. With the above normal high tides to continue for the next two days, the commission and local authorities have provided residents with sand to create sandbag barriers.
Cognizant of the effects floods could have on the health of communities and villages, the Ministry of Public Health issued an advisory on Sunday calling on citizens in the affected areas to take precautionary measures, and pay keen attention to their health, personal hygiene, vector control, food and water safety to avoid any waterborne illness.
“If you are living in flooded areas, stay out of the floodwater as much as possible, as it can greatly reduce your chances of contracting diseases such as skin irritation, skin infection, Leptospirosis, diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases,” the Public Health Ministry urged.
It explained that direct contact with floodwaters can expose persons to several germs that can lead to any of the named diseases.

Carlton Hall Primary School’s compound on Monday (Photos by Rony Rogers)

“Keep children especially out of the water as they are most at risk of contracting diseases. Avoid swimming in canals and trenches. During the rainy season and floods, these become contaminated by both human and animal faeces and can make you sick,” it further warned.
Use of protective gears is key for those persons who are required to venture out into floodwaters, the Ministry said. These gears include long boots, gloves and eye protection.

“Prepare a foot bath of ½ cup of bleach to one bucket of water and wash your feet before entering the house. Apply Vaseline or oil to your skin as it forms a barrier and provides some protection from the dirty salted water,” the Public Health Ministry advised.

It also called on families to sleep under mosquito nets, use mosquito repellents and coils to prevent being bitten by the insects that could lead to Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya.

K

Homes, farms, livestock under high tide floods in Region 5

 

Release from the Civil Defence Commission:

The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) received reports of flooding in the Mahaica-West Berbice Region (Region 5). The floods are as a result of above-normal high tides predicted at approximately 3.31 meters. The effects of the tides have been exacerbated by a breach in the Danzic sea defence dam.

Over 200 meters of the structure have been compromised. On Saturday a five-person team was deployed to the communities of Danzic, Columbia, Glazier’s Lust, Fair Field, High Dam and Prospect.

The team, in collaboration with the Regional Democratic Council of Region 5, conducted a rapid assessment across the communities and found that seven families experienced flood waters in their homes. It was noted that several small-scale subsistence farms and livestock were severely affected.

More than 10 rice-cultivated plots were inundated with salt water on the northern side of the villages while a further five on the southern side have been affected.

The CDC provided the seven families with cleaning hampers to help them return their homes to normalcy after the high tides. To further prepare for the two remaining days of above-normal high tides, residents have been provided with sand to create sand bag barriers.

The Ministry of Public Infrastructure and the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) have provided excavators to widen channels to alleviate some of the flood waters. Members of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) and the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary (MMA) authority also conducted their own assessments.

Residents of the affected areas are advised that the above-normal high tide warning remains in effect until Wednesday and are urged to take precautions.

On Saturday, excessively high tides caused floods in several West Coast Demerara villages.

K

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