HAVING experienced the anxiety and difficulties that comes with flooding on the coastland, I can empathise with the residents of the Rupununi who are currently bracing themselves for another onslaught of rain and I encourage the authorities to continue to provide assistance at this crucial time. It is good to see government’s emergency response efforts which are timely and efficient as several representatives are on the ground giving advice to residents and businesses. Assistance from the Ministry of Agriculture is vital at this time and it is encouraging to see that the Ministry has been proactive in providing farmers with assistance and advice to harvest what they can at this time.
While some may want to say that enough is not being done or that the efforts are futile, I am sure that the people on the ground, who are affected are grateful for the assistance as government tries to get them into shelters and tries to assist in saving their crops and livestock.
Guyana is not the only country which is currently experiencing flooding. Just across the border, Brazil is experiencing what they say is the worst natural disaster to hit the country for decades with the death toll rising as the torrential rainfall caused mudslides in many villages. Many are still missing.
Trinidad was also advising residents to brace for more floods as more rainfall is expected. The island experienced some flooding during Saturday’s rainfall when differently abled children were displaced.
Further afield, the United States of America has been grappling with flooding in some areas recently which has not abated as every day the newscasts are saturated with scenes of the rising Mississippi River and residents trying to build levees around their houses to save their properties. Many have been moved to safer locations while others are praying for relief.