Latest update October 14th, 2026 10:07 AM
CDC to incorporate GDF for disaster relief
Shelters being set up for creek communities
The Government has asked the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) to assign soldiers to work with the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) to implement a disaster relief plan for flood-hit communities.
This is according to Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon, who said that flooding is likely to continue over an extended period, with rainfall expected to continue to as late as April.
The CDC has now shifted into high gear, with a decision taken to provide food supplies to residents in hard hit communities, and to provide shelter for residents of creek communities, who are worst off.
Water is being released out of the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) to avoid a build-up that could threaten the stability of the dam. The entire East Coast Demerara stands at risk of being flooded if there is overtopping or a breach of the conservancy dam.
And so, apart from the heavy rainfall that has seen the water level in the Mahaica Creek, for example, rising and overflowing into their yards, homes and farmlands, the residents have to put up with the excess water that is being released from the conservancy.
The conservancy drains into the Mahaica River through the Maduni Sluice and the Big and Small Lama Sluices. The Mahaica River is much smaller than the Demerara River, and flows into Region Five.
Since it is limited in depth and breadth, the Mahaica River is not sufficiently large to act as a discharge valve, and any significant release of water from the eastern side of the EDWC into the river results in flooding of coastal lowlands.
The decision to discharge through these sluices is only taken out of fear of potential failure of the conservancy dam, according to Dr Luncheon.
As was the case currently, flooding of Region Five in January 2006 was exacerbated by the Government’s decision to release conservancy waters through the Maduni Sluice, and the Big and Small Lama Sluices.
The 40-mile conservancy dam was built some 150 years ago.
“We know these areas are going to be flooded. We know there is going to be flooding for some time. We know there are vulnerable populations,” Luncheon told reporters at his weekly post-Cabinet media briefing.
He said that school children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable, and added that they would be accommodated in Government shelters.
According to Dr Luncheon, the schools that will serve as shelters have already been identified, and the CDC is in the process of stockpiling materials.
According to the Cabinet Secretary yesterday, the CDC has been continually monitoring and assessing the situation from the time the rains began, and the move to provide food and shelter to those who need it is an addition to the public health and sanitation response that is ongoing.
With the rains expected to continue, Dr Luncheon said, the situation remains dire, and only a dire outlook can be predicted.
As a result, the Government is working to improve gravity drainage, and that involves clearing obstacles to such drainage.
He said this includes clearing silted canals and outfalls and removing garbage that impedes the free drainage of water.
In addition, there are moves to improve mechanical drainage in low-lying areas, where the water does not drain easily.
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