By Utamu Belle
A severe lightning and thunder storm on Tuesday resulted in damage to several homes and public buildings in the Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Berbice) community, which also led to disruption of electricity and communication services within the town.
One of the homes – that belonged to a Retrieve family of four – was damaged when a tree, which was uprooted by heavy winds, collapsed on the building. This publication was told that the Moraballi Street home is owned by Sandra Hopkinson.
There were also reports of trees being uprooted in areas such as Richmond Hill and Mackenzie.
Several residents in the Wisroc Housing Scheme, Victory Valley, One Mile, Retrieve and other areas across Linden reported severe damage to rooftops, which resulted in several homes being flooded. The roof of the Christiansburg Wismar Secondary School, at Blueberry Hill was also damaged.
Additionally, the Mackenzie Market also suffered tremendously as a result. Reports indicate that the roof of the market was badly damaged during the freak storm, which occurred sometime after 15:00h.
Several lantern posts also collapsed resulting in a power outage. Linden Mayor Carwyn Holland when contacted after the storm, noted that he received numerous calls from residents at Wismar, who complained of damage to their homes. On Wednesday, he said a proper estimate would be conducted of the market area to assess the damage.
In areas such as Richmond Hill and Green Valley, Holland noted that the threat of erosion was great, and as such, the cash-strapped Linden Mayor and Town Council would be seeking emergency funding from Central Government to address the situation as well as to assist those affected by such catastrophes. The mayor said a recent walk- through of Victory Valley revealed scores of homes under threat of erosion.
Holland said he has also contacted acting E Division (Linden-Kwakwani) Commander, Superintendent Anthony Vanderhyden who has activated a team of Policemen, who were in the process of driving around the communities checking on residents to ensure their safety.
