Breach in Unity sea-dam sparks fears of flooding

Oct 24, 2016 News

Residents of Mosquito Hall, Unity, Mahaica are bracing for possible major flooding during the next spring tide, following the collapse of a section of the sea dam in the East Coast Demerara community.
They are appealing for urgent repairs to the damaged structure, since the next spring tide is due by weekend.
“As the water get more big, it will break away (more),” a fisherman warned yesterday. “If they don’t do anything, it will be serious flooding from Lancaster to Unity.”
They were faced with a similar situation in January, 2014, when part of the dam collapsed.
A section of the temporary structure which was erected in December, 2013, collapsed under the constant pounding of waves on Old Year’s Day and almost caused a major disaster in the recently regularised community which begins just about 20 yards from the main seawall.

Flashback: This gaping breach occurred in 2014

Flashback: Workers placed sandbags at the area after the 2014 breach

Angry residents had lambasted the contractor and his crew who were forced to fill sand bags from material dug from the area to seal the huge breach.
They accused the contractor, whom they claimed was working in collaboration with officials from the Ministry of Public Works of compromising their livelihood.
But an official from the Ministry had stated that the recent and current works are just preventative.
“At this time we have to do preventative work until the permanent work is approved in the budget,” the official had said.
Residents had also said that, apart from some spot repairs, there have not been any significant repairs to the actual seawall since it was erected decades ago.