Freak storm wreaks havoc in Linden

Sep 26, 2024 News

---

– roofs of several homes blown off, yards flooded

Kaieteur News – The mining town of Linden was on Tuesday evening struck by a severe thunder storm and heavy rainfall destroyed several homes and other public infrastructures.

In addition, many flood-prone communities both on the Wismar and Mackenzie shores were inundated including Kara Kara, Central Mackenzie and Victory Valley. The thunder storm which started around 18:00hrs resulted in electricity being shut down in the entire town until after midnight. This was as a result of several power lines being destroyed by trees and heavy winds.  When the rain stopped around 21:00hrs, municipal councillors including Mayor of Linden, Sharma Solomon ventured into the affected communities to ascertain the severity of the damage and to provide support to the residents.

The preliminary assessment of the Blueberry Hill area saw seven homes where the roofs have been completely removed or severely damaged and its Hillside communities suffered erosion and fallen trees.  In Retrieve six homes and the Municipal Day Care had their roofs completely removed or badly damaged. Eight trees fell on homes and roadways. Several homes had 18 inches of water. In the central business district, flooding along Republic Avenue caused several businesses to be flooded. Kara Kara had several homes flooded and several fallen trees. Alleys and Valleys had eighty homes flooded which displaced several families. This is the fourth time in months such catastrophic damage has been recorded in Linden communities following heavy rainfall.

Solomon in a statement reiterated his calls for urgent intervention from central government with priority to be placed on tangible support and compensation for families affected. He said in the interim of making representation, the council will utilise all available resources for immediate support. He said there is urgent need for the town to enhance its disaster preparedness and response capabilities. “With the growing frustration regarding these disasters, I once again call on the government for their urgent intervention and action.”

One affected Retrieve resident said her entire roof was removed in less than half hour after the storm started and her entire house was flooded, causing immense damage to her furniture and household appliances. “I don’t know where to turn from here, this is beyond me, everything wet up, the roof come off completely, I had to run for shelter at my neighbour, then a tree fall on my other neighbour yard and….I don’t know what to say,” the distraught resident said.

Similar sentiments were echoed by other residents on live streams from various councillors’ Facebook pages on Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill visited Linden and a team of engineers and regional officials including Member of Parliament Jermaine Figueira and Regional Executive Officer Dwight John also visited several affected communities on both the Mackenzie and Wismar shores. Edghill reiterated the government’s support for all the affected residents as well as to put systems in place for a more efficient disaster preparedness system. The Minister along with Minister of Local Government, Sonia Parag also met with over 60 Community Enhancement Workers and reminded them of the important role they play in not only maintaining the beauty and cleanliness of their communities, but also minimise floods and mosquito infestation by keeping drains and other waterways clean and unclogged.

Only last week Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d), Honourable Mark Phillips and Minister Edghill had convened a critical meeting with stakeholders from Linden to address the urgent issues of flooding and long-term drainage planning for the town. The primary agenda at the meeting revolved around immediate, medium, and long-term flood-mitigation for the town. The Linden delegation also highlighted on-going challenges in several areas that require urgent attention.

Prime Minister Phillips addressed these concerns directly, emphasising the importance of a comprehensive approach.  He said that the Government is concerned about the impacts of the flood on the people of Linden and is “prepared to continue meeting because we are interested in the actions taken and are monitoring the progress and we know we will have to take additional actions as we identify all things that need to be done and we will get it done. We know that we have to meet and we will continue to meet with you the stakeholders.” Among the actions discussed were flood investigation and site assessments, which will be conducted by a team of engineers from the Ministry of Public Works’ Special Projects Unit, NDIA, and other relevant stakeholders.

---

• destroyed, heavy, Kara Kara, storm, thunder

---