…as the swollen Takutu River overflows its banks
Residents of Lethem in Region 9(Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo) were
last night on high flood alert after the nearby Takutu River overflowed its banks and surged into the village, leaving sections isolated and threatening the power and telephone facilities, and private businesses on the main road.
Regional Chairman Clarindo Lucas said that flood waters from the Takutu had cut off the overland connections between Lethem and neighbouring villages such as St. Ignatius, Moco Moco, Tabatinga and Culvert City, prompting an emergency disaster preparedness meeting
and the formation of sub-committees yesterday.
The committee was last night monitoring the situation and will meet again today to take further action if the flooding gets worse.
He said that he has briefed ministers in the central government of the current state of affairs and plans for responses.
Lucas said last night that the flooding of Lethem from the Takutu seemed to be caused by excess water from a tributary of the river in
Brazil, which seemed to have swollen considerably from heavy rainfall in recent days.
“That tributary of the Takutu is above Lethem, so we are getting the brunt of the overflow.”
“If you were to fly over Lethem today (yesterday) what you will see from the air are large lakes of water in places which are normally dry
land. The flooding has not reached 2005 levels as yet. But the situation is very bad.”
He said that the gradual build up of flood waters in Lethem became apparent earlier this week and up to last night, levels were still rising.
He said that in response, the RDC had yesterday made arrangements for persons in the outlying areas to be transported by boat; and as of last night, boats were ferrying people to villages that had been cut off.
He said that the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) and the Lethem Power Company buildings on the main road were yesterday
afternoon under threat.
The committee had made arrangements for acquiring sandbags and sand for protecting the resources of these utilities.
Lucas said that the major concern at the moment is potable water, since the Guyana Water Inc. well at Culvert City was under flood water and had to be closed.
“This means that we will have to resort to using the well at Bon Success, which is on higher ground, but farther away.”
He disclosed that the disaster preparedness committee which met yesterday included both public and private sector organizations.
“We had in attendance the police, the army, the Red Cross, representatives of the telephone and power utilities, the neighbourhood democratic councils, and representatives of private businesses.