Flooding – when will we learn?

Jul 07, 2021 Editorial

Kaieteur News – As every Guyanese will agree, this last flooding fits any expansive descriptions. From the Great Flood of 2021 to the Noachian Deluge of Guyana to the Greatest National Inundation, all fit, even leave some ground to cover. But, as we all know, it was bad, as in a national disaster of unprecedented proportions. It was not a village underwater, or a community somewhere way out there in the vastness and remoteness of Guyana, but all over was flooded, and with damage still being assessed. The PPP Government did some things that were helpful and, so too, did teams of tireless public servants. We thank them all.
But we have to get real and face ourselves in the mirror on this morning after, and ask ourselves in all soberness, whether we are doing the best, we can. We must ask ourselves, whether leaders or citizens, how much more we can do, at all levels, from top through middle down to the lower levels of this soaked society now made shorter in the pocket, losers in crops and livestock, in household damage, in the wider mining and agricultural sectors, and in possible present and later health issues.
We look at how we have reacted, what we have done, and where both leave us. Leaders and emergency people made flying visits, for which the positives are given. But is that all? Emergency supplies and aid have followed on the heels of national and regional leaders taking firsthand surveys of the damage and wretchedness that were so much an inseparable aspect of this great flood, and which impacts will be felt for a long time to come. Again, we salute as good and helpful, but what more can be done and, here is the essence of all of this, done before?
As sure as Guyana is by the equator, there will be more rainfall in Guyana but, God forbid, not to this enormous degree. Our location and seasons and all the rest are known, but there are the unknowns that still cause contradictions that lead to fierce clashes. By this, we mean climate change, the fallouts from that, and the brutal consequences for poor Third World societies, like Guyana. This much has become the norm, and is no longer a matter for debate: hot places get hotter, and locations prone to flooding are drowned in more rainfall. It seems that those are now part and parcel of our existence. Hence, we must prepare, which means before.
We learn of developments involving koker operators, about who was absent, or negligent, or sleeping on the job, and of harsh punishments handed out to them. But they are not all over, so such can be isolated and dealt with efficiently, which still leaves large areas of Guyana, and large numbers of Guyanese, looking to the skies fearfully, holding their heads in agony, and shedding tears, either seasonally or annually, without pause. It is a case of a new day, but the same old story. Next, Guyanese read (we present the stories) of more pumps and more money, and we say that those are good, but they always seem to be after the fact. When taken together, we are running around, like puppies without a clue, and limit ourselves to putting out fires. This is what brings contentment to us, causes minor and major self-congratulations.
But tomorrow and the next rainy season still stare us in the face, with oceanic water hanging menacingly over our heads first, and then rising from our feet past our beds, while instilling dread in our heads. What about then is what we must ask of ourselves from now. This 2021 flood is almost history though, for many, it will never be. Contingency plans are nice and comforting, but they are fallback options in a likely emergency. What we need to do is get ahead of emergencies, to take charge of destiny, to alter the course of our watery history.
It must be about the major gaps in our system, our culture of carelessness by citizens, our predatory conduct by crooked politicians, and our deficiencies in expertise. And about billions spent, little gained. What will we do about those before the next big flood comes?

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