…no school in Kako village
In less than one month, at least three villages in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) have been devastated by violent storms, leaving residents to pick up the pieces and restart life. Late on Saturday afternoon, a violent storm wreaked havoc in Kako Village. Although there has been no loss of life, residents have to now pick up the pieces and start reconstructing their damaged homes.
According to Regional Chairman Gordon Bradford, no one was seriously injured. He said that a team from the Regional Democratic Council’s Emergency Preparedness Committee has been dispatched to the village and has reported that some six houses were totally destroyed, six other buildings suffered major damage and the school in the area was also damaged.
“Because of the damage to the school, there would be no school reopening tomorrow (Monday) and the Regional Administration would be there to begin repairs to the school soon,” Bradford said in an invited comment.
He added that the team reported that residents indicated that for the past five days they have been experiencing heavy thunder coupled with lightning and precipitation. He said that this would begin in the afternoon hours around 15:00h.
“The parents are fearful of sending their children to school, especially those that have to use boats, because of the storm. They are saying that the children should remain home, because it would be too bad if they get caught in a storm on the river,” he said.
Bradford said that the Civil Defence Commission has been informed and was on standby to provide assistance if needed. He added that Kamarang, also in Region Seven, was affected, but because of its remote location, the details of the damage there are yet to be reported.
The Regional Chairman said interior locations would experience frequent storms during the hurricane season and noted that the residents were already looking at the possibility of constructing storm-resistant homes. He said that a storm-resistant home would be built to house the family of Marsha Jordan, who was killed when a house collapsed on her last month during a violent storm.
Jordan was seven months pregnant at the time. She was the mother of two girls aged 3 and 11. Around 16:00h on Friday, August 19, heavy winds, lightning and thunder wreaked havoc on the Amerindian village of Jawalla, damaging several houses in the process. Jordan and her two daughters were sheltering under a house when it collapsed on them, immediately killing her.
