A heavy and prolonged downpour last night and yesterday morning caused flooding in some commercial and residential areas in Georgetown as well as in some coastal communities.

Many woke up to flooded yards, lower flats, streets and even roads due to heavy incessant rainfall.

This inclement weather condition caused inconvenience to persons and their daily routine, such as business places, schools, etc. For instance, even the Magistrate Court was put off, because of the rising water.
Schools were closed as a result of the condition and the Ministry of Education informed the general public that all public schools in Georgetown and along the East Bank and East Coast of Demerara were closed for yesterday. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has announced that 42 schools will remain closed today as a result of the flooding.
Nevertheless, some persons still managed to get on with their day’s work inspite of the flood, but with much difficulty. This was evident by buses and other means of transportation not being able to access certain routes or took longer than the usual time to transport passengers.

Hydro meteorological Office report
It was reported by the Hydro meteorological office that a high pressure system over the Bermuda which was dominant, forced the intertropical Convergence Zone to shift from its last position, to about 6 degrees North of the equator bringing it directly over Guyana’s Coast.
As a result, the heavy downpour caused accumulation of water in parts of Regions 2, 3 and 4. This 6 hour rainfall of 128.9mm or 5.1 inches which was recorded at the Botanical Gardens was the highest recorded data analysed for Georgetown since 1892.
The weather forecast up to midnight last night didn’t indicate or provide any warning of the weather condition experienced. This morning’s rainfall had an intensity of 21.5mm per hour, compared to 6.9mm per hour in 2005 and 5.9mm per hour in 2004.
Cloudy conditions are expected to continue over the next 6-12 hours. The heaviest rainfall is expected to be over Regions 2 and 4 recording between 50 and 100mm. Flash flood warning remains in effect for flood prone areas along the Coast.

Drainage and Irrigation intervention
The NDIA has also reported that while there are flooding in parts of Region 2, 3, the city and its outskirts; East Coast Demerara is, however, not significantly affected.
While the Ministry of Agriculture continues to monitor the situation, the NDIA has been mandated to remove two excavators from the Hope Canal Project which will be used to clear priority outfall channels. The first outfall to be cleared will be Cottage, Mahaicony Region 5.
The Pumps at Liliendaal and Kitty are operable but are intermittent based on water levels in the reservoir.
Presently, the pumps at Kingston (forestry) and Lama Canal are non-functional and the Council has since made a request for NDIA to assist in ensuring these become operable.
The Ministry of Agriculture and its agencies (NDIA & Hydromet) will continue to monitor the situation and will issue an advisory where necessary.

Ministry of Agriculture advisory
The Ministry of Agriculture is advising the general public that the current heavy downpour has resulted in parts of Regions 3 and 4 being under water. Currently, the NDIA, Ministry of Agriculture and the regional administrations are taking all measures to ensure that the water recedes effectively.

Thus far, all kokers in these areas are functioning to ensure that the water effectively drains off-land in a timely manner. However, the NDIA is cautioning persons to assist by unblocking all internal drains in residential areas.

The Ministry is also assuring the public that the situation is under control and appealed for persons to be responsible and not to incite a panic mode.

Cabinet ministers and other government officials, and engineers will also be visiting affected areas.

In the meanwhile, residents in low lying and riverine areas are asked to take necessary precautionary measures against rising water levels.

Kindly contact the Ministry of Agriculture on hotline number 227-5049/223-7291, if the need arises.
Written By Geeta Rampersaud