Fragile sea defence exposed as tides batter West Coast Dem

Mar 03, 2018 News

– Leonora Hospital temporarily closed, scores affected by ‘worst waves in decades’
– Emergency relief centres established

The Leonora Hospital was constantly under threat yesterday from a hostile ocean

Heavy tides, described as the worst in at least two decades, battered the West Demerara area yesterday, leaving scores of homes under water and a hospital out of commission.

It would raise alarming concerns about the fragility of the country’s sea defences in the face of an increasing number of similar overtopping incidents in recent times.

The situation around 4:45pm at one of the two sluices at Uitvlugt.

West Coast residents are now bracing themselves for another round of overtopping today and with waves expected to be much bigger.

Waters in the Leonora Hospital yesterday morning.

Yesterday, emergency workers toiled feverishly at the Leonora Hospital as waters which topped the nearby seawall, flowed through the facilities.
The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) was rushed to the area, with two temporary relief centres set up at the Uitvlugt Community Centre and the Uitvlugt Secondary School.
The centres will house residents affected by the flooding and will provide breakfast, lunch and dinner, government said.
The Leonora Hospital has been temporarily closed due to flooding and the Mildred Cox-Younge Health Centre, also known as the Den Amstel Health Centre, is now operating as a temporary hospital – over the next three to seven days. It will facilitate outpatients as well as emergency cases, while the West Demerara Regional Hospital will take the more serious cases.

An official update has confirmed that there has been overtopping as a result of high tides in several villages along West Coast Demerara, mainly Uitvlugt, Stewartville and Leonora. It has resulted in flooding in some areas.

Residents seek higher ground

Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings, a team from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, other Government officials and Colonel Kester Craig of the CDC and his team were on the ground assessing the situation, distributing supplies and sandbags.
According to a government statement, the Guyana Fire Service assisted in cleaning and securing the Leonora Cottage Hospital and is also assisting with the distribution of sandbags.
“Residents in the affected areas are asked to take all necessary precautions and to stay away from the seawall and sea dams during the high tide. Residents should also avoid all unnecessary contact with flood waters.”
Badly affected was the area nearest to the Uitvlugt kokers – two of them. Several homes were under water with the flowing waters making it clear that kokers were just too little for Mother Nature.
Authorities were warning that precautions should include moving all animals and poultry to higher ground, elevating furniture, appliances, electronic equipment and other valuables in lower flats, unplugging all appliances and electrical equipment in lower flats and using sand bags around doors to buildings.
Early yesterday morning, residents battled with sand bags in Uitvlugt, Stewartville and Leonora, with drivers seen stopping and gawking at the towering waves which crashed into walls.

The aftermath yesterday. (Ganesh Mahipaul photo)

Fences were reportedly down, with residents reporting damage to kitchen equipment and foodstuff. There were even fences that went down.

At Uitvlugt, the waters were yesterday afternoon breaching sections of the walls and flowing in the drainage canals and every other little waterway.
At around 5pm, the brute force of the waters hitting the walls forced the crowds to stay back, some venturing to higher grounds.

Overhead shots indicate a terrifying situation.
Government statements reported that Minister Cummings took the decision to temporarily close the Leonora Diagnostic Centre following flooding of the facility’s lower flat.

The hospital was inundated with at least 14 inches of water.

The proximity of this residence to the seawall and those waves have brought home the seriousness of the situation

Most of the lower flat of the Leonora Diagnostic Centre was affected, including the male and female observation wards, the sterilization room, the Accident and Emergency Unit, the Eye Care Unit and both the old and new health centre units. The operating theatre on the ground floor was unaffected.
The Ministry of Public Infrastructure reportedly mobilised a contractor for materials and equipment.

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