Over the past two days, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) executed a series of emergency works in the Mahaicony – Abary area, in Region Five following instances of flooding due to continuous and heavy rainfall.
Following reports of flooding in several parts of the region, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha immediately put systems in place to have the area drained and to minimize any further instances of flooding.
While giving an overview of some of the works undertaken in response to flooding in the affected areas, Minister Mustapha said a mobile pump was installed, several drainage canals were cleared along with the installation of tubes and the construction of embankments.
“After I received reports of flooding in those areas, I immediately instructed NDIA to visit the area to see what can be done to have these areas drained in the shortest possible time. So far we’ve installed an 80 Cusec Pump at Little Abary Sluice to compliment that structure. We were also able to carry out emergency works on several drainage canals. We cleaned the western and eastern sideline dams in Little Abary, Catherine, Recess, Park, Fellowship, and Good Faith. We also cleared the Airy Hall middle walk and we also did some work in Ball Field street, Calcutta. In addition to those works, NDIA was also able to install tubes to assist with improved drainage in Airy Hall, Dundee, Good Faith, Recess, Cathrine, and in the northern swamplands from Food Faith to Novar,” the Minister explained.
Minister Mustapha also said that the Chairman for the NDIA, Lionel Wordsworth along with NDIA’s regional engineers were on the ground to assess the situation and oversee the works.
He further stated that a team from the NDIA and the region will be monitoring the situation in Region Five and other affected regions along the Coast and other parts of the country on a 24-hour basis.
Minister Mustapha also encouraged persons to remain alert as Guyana is currently experiencing above-normal rainfall as part of the ongoing May-June rainy period.
As of yesterday, 70% of the water from Huntley to Abary in Region Five had receded due to consistent drainage and cleaning operations.
Chief Meteorological Officer, Dr. Garvin Cummings, in his report, indicated that Region Five had the most rainfall (five inches) from Sunday into Monday (24 hours).
Precipitation was above normal in some areas which greatly exceeded drainage capacity and surface runoff, which has been made worse due to ground saturation, particularly in low-lying and riverain areas. [Press Release]
