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Feb 22, 2011 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

As this is being written, heavy rains are lashing Guyana’s coastline. The downpours have been unrelenting and does not augur well for Wednesday’s Mash Day events which are being held to mark Guyana’s Republic Anniversary.
The downpours actually started since Saturday but eased off towards the afternoon. They returned with a fury from early Sunday morning and have continued with intensity for almost all of yesterday.
If the heavy rainfalls do not abate by today, then the authorities may have little alternative but to postpone tomorrow’s Mash Day activities for later when the situation is normalised.
But even if the rain ceases early today, it is still uncertain that the damage that would have been caused and therefore it may very well still be the case that the Mash Day celebrations will have to be cancelled because of the inclement conditions.
Also, even if the weather holds, it may still be necessary to postpone the revelry because the main route where the parade passes and where tens of thousands of persons congregate to observe the bands. This area is likely to be extremely soggy and therefore not suitable for use. This too would tend to suggest that even if the weather holds good, it is not going to be possible to have Mash Day on the traditional Wednesday February 23.
It is still at the time of writing unclear whether the Guyanese people will be up for this sort of revelry since it is not known how many of them have been affected by accumulation on the land. But given the amount of rainfall, it is likely that there is going to be a great deal of flooding in low lying areas even though the situation is not likely to be as bad as in 2005 when large sections of the coastline was under water for weeks.
It is hoped that the media will keep the nation abreast about what is taking place and that all systems will be put in place to ensure that there is rapid drain-off of the water on the land.
Already there is evidence that is some areas, the drainage situation has improved but given Guyana’s low- lying coastline, any rainfall in excess of two inches will cause flooding and from what is being observed we are way past that amount.
Just how much the citizens have been affected is not yet clear but this will have to be taken into consideration when it comes to Mash day events.
In 2005, following the floods, a decision was taken, rightly so, to call off Mash Day celebrations. It is much too early to make such a decision, but from what is happening indicates that it is not likely that there will be any celebrations on Wednesday in the city.
However, we all know Guyanese are not easily deterred and rain or no rain, they will  be eager to enjoy themselves on Mash Day, and even if the celebrations have to be put back a little, Guyanese would understand and wait the few days until the weather and the situation on the ground improves.
The heavy rains will also test the readiness of the authorities to deal with excessive rainfall. It will indicate whether the country is prepared to deal with excessively high levels of rainfall over a very short period of time.
We have been hearing a lot about the multimillion-dollar kokers and pumps that have been installed to deal with such situations. It is to be seen how ready the country’s drainage structures are to deal with the situation that is now facing us and whether the final verdict would be that the situation is manageable and that more importantly, losses and destruction are minimised as a result of the storms now lashing the coast.
The present unfavourable weather conditions will give us an opportunity, unwanted, as its is, of testing whether the billions that have been spent over the past six years to improve drainage, have really worked or whether we will need to spend a few billion dollars more. It will decide whether we are ready for climate change.

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