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Heavy rainfall, power failure, high tide take heavy toll on city
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds and Minister Robert Persaud in discussion with engineers and other officials during the inspection yesterday.
Public Relations Officer of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC), Royston King said that Georgetown experienced flooding yesterday, largely due to a combination of heavy rainfall, power failure and a high tide.
According to King in a 24-hour period, between 08:00 hours on Wednesday and the same time yesterday, there was 53.3 millimetres of rainfall. This was compounded by the fact that on the Demerara bar the tide was at its highest point at 08:00 hours yesterday.
Since both the high tide and the heavy rainfall happened at approximately the same time, many communities in Georgetown experienced overtopping.
This was reportedly compounded by a power outage, which the M&CC said affected the pumps at Kitty and Liliendaal.
While these pumps are apparently operable, King noted that the power outage came at a critical time. The lack of electricity, to power the pumps, allowed areas that are serviced by the pumps to be flooded.
The Municipality dispatched workers to different areas, to clear chokes and blockages at culverts and other waterways.
The lack of electricity, to power the pumps, allowed areas that are serviced by the equipment to be flooded.
The M&CC said that it will continue to channel resources into the de-silting and clearing of canals, given the release of the first payment of $10M, by the government. Nonetheless, the Council is urging residents of the city to “show environmental responsibility by disposing their waste in a manner that is benefiting a clean and healthy city.”
And intermittent rainfall is reportedly expected to continue until tomorrow, according to the Ministry of Agriculture’s Hydromet Service.
Yesterday, an inspection of drainage canals and pumps in operation was made by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who is performing the duties of the President, and Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud.
A press release indicated that in addition to this, Minister Persaud has been in contact with the various regions and engineers to make necessary interventions to alleviate the incidence of water accumulation, while additional inspection has been planned for the East Coast and other regions.
Employees at many businesses were forced to bail out the flood waters.
It added that the ongoing support to the Mayor and City Council that has responsibility to provide drainage to Georgetown, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority will provide an additional hydro-flow pump to increase the pumping capacity at Liliendaal, since one of the two fixed pumps is under repairs.
The Ministry is also calling on regional and other local government authorities to be alert and expedite dam preparation to support the reaping of paddy, which may be temporarily interrupted due to the current unseasonal heavy rainfall.
Meanwhile, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority will continue to monitor the situation closely in collaboration with regional authorities to reduce the incidence of water accumulation in residential and farming areas.
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