-despite unusually heavy rainfall
THE ongoing drainage works undertaken by the government countrywide have averted what could have been a major flood disaster as a result of the heavy rainfall experienced in some parts of the country over the past few days. With the amount of rainfall some communities have experienced, it was expected that the issue of drainage capacity would have posed a threat, but the impact of the rains has been minimised by the government’s initiative to boost the drainage capacity even in absence of the rains.
Over the last few days, some areas had in excess of 140 millimetres of water, the equivalent of the total amount of rainfall for the entire month of January.
The same amounts of rainfall in those areas were experienced in 2005, causing a major disaster; but the administration’s decision to put mechanisms in place to tackle major flooding averted a recurrence of that situation.
Briefing the media yesterday, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon noted that if the same amount of rainfall had occurred sometime in the 90s or early 2000s, the situation would have been more critical. While overtopping threatened many communities and waterways, the situation was brought under control by Government’s interventions.
“The Administration has worked, over the years, to ensure that mechanical drainage is maximally facilitated from the onset of the rainy season, and that gravity drainage is enhanced, by dealing with its capacity of drains in communities as well as outfalls,” Dr. Luncheon explained. He said the present administration has undertaken to increase the capacity of drainage to accommodate the heavy rains by building more canals, desilting the outfalls and procuring and installing more pumps to enhance mechanical drainage, among other initiatives executed.
“The limit today is not the limit that existed two or three years ago,” he explained.
On Tuesday January 31, Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy had announced that the East Demerara Water Conservancy was one of those threatened by the rising water levels, after which a decision was taken to open the Maduni Sluice door to release water from the EDWC. The minister had said that “this action was necessary to maintain the conservancy at a safe level”.
Dr. Luncheon told the media that Government Ministers have since joined with regional officials to assist in assessments, and to utilise the processes initiated by the Civil Defence Commission. “The Prime Minister-led body will continue monitoring the situation and its effects on households and livelihoods across Guyana,” Dr. Luncheon added.

Hope Canal Critical
Government’s decision to construct the US$15 million Hope Canal project was this time realised, as the canal will spare the residents of Mahaica, Mahaicony and Abary severe flooding when the rain comes with its threat of overtopping of the conservancies. The project is another one of Central Government’s interventions to enhance the removal of flood waters from the land. An inordinate burden has been placed on communities east of the conservancies when heavy rainfall exceeds the capacity of drainage to the north, the Atlantic Ocean, and to the west, the Demerara River.
According to Dr. Luncheon, the incisiveness of the Government’s interventions was to have an outlet for floodwaters that have accumulated in the conservancies to drain into the Atlantic Ocean instead of into the Mahaica and the Mahaicony Creeks, which invariably threatened the livelihoods of the residents and farmers in those areas. Work is ongoing, especially the earth-moving component of the construction of the canal from the conservancy all the way to the Coast, interruption of the roads and the structures at the coast where the mechanism’s controls will be put in place. Once the Hope Canal is completed and becomes operational, this rainy season could see the last flooding in surrounding areas.

Government’s Assessment and Assistance Continue
With regards to assistance for the residents and farmers who suffered losses as a result of flooding, the Government says, it will not divert from previous approaches, especially with a similar situation that occurred in Region 9 mid-last year. Government had mounted a massive recovery exercise and distributed monetary assistance, seeds, machines, food supplies and other recovery interventions to bring back the community to normalcy. The then President, Bharrat Jagdeo had made available a total of $50 million for emergency relief efforts.
Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said on Tuesday that the Government will be assisting livestock farmers to relocate their animals to higher grounds, and will be distributing antibiotics, vaccines, and molasses, just to name a few recovery efforts. However, an assessment will first have to be carried out.