Guyana recently experienced a rainy spell, that resulted in heavy and persistent rainfall, causing widespread flooding in many regions. Gone are the days when predictions were made with great surety as to what times of the calendar year, rains will come.
Now, one just has to observe the large volume of rainfall  that occurs in, say, a short period, and the resultant swelling of canals etc. to know that weather patterns in this new millennium are out of the ordinary, undoubtedly compliments of the threat of climate change.
Even the traditional critics, appear to have come to the realization that mankind is experiencing extraordinary weather patterns, inclusive of Guyana; but, there are still voices that are being heard, blaming the current administrations for not taking competent measures to avoid the recent inundation.
Beginning on the coastland especially, one can point to the need for a daily, consistent regime of drainage maintenance, coupled with the critical necessity of continuous desilting of the Demerara outfalls. With these pivotal steps taken, what about the human contribution to the flooding problem that has once again manifested?
That the nation has become known for its unsavoury practice and culture of dumping, is a particular custom for which those responsible ought to hang their heads in dark shame. It was instructive, that as the floodwaters from the great 2005 flood receded, that all the canals evidenced the disgusting common sight of plastic and styro foam material, apart from other unnatural sights such as household furniture, etc. Obviously, this was a telling factor that had caused damage to many of the pumps in the past. The ugly sight of plastic was very evident, being left on the parapets, as the ritualistic draining of the land took place.
Still, Guyanese in general have not yet woken up to the reality that their disrespectful acts toward the environment and inconsiderate care are not only abysmal, but add to the collective causes of its violent reaction.
To the credit of Central government – and they do deserve a great deal – billions have been invested, and continued to be channelled, particularly in the last six years, in desilting canals and other waterways; installation of pumps; and infrastructural works in attempts to mitigate floods in, especially, Regions Three, Four, Five and Six. This is quite understandable, since over 75% of the nation’s farmlands are located in these easy to flood zones. Certainly, with agriculture so essential to the food security of the nation, how can the critics not acknowledge the ongoing NDIA works in these areas?
But how does one cope with the natural phenomenon of unusually large volumes of rainfall, a now common, global weather behaviour, that has given rise to catastrophic flood situations in diverse regions such as Asia: the Pakistan flood in 2010 that left in excess of 3,000,000 persons homeless, and a death toll of over 2000; South East Asia: the floods that struck Queensland state and capital city Brisbane, Australia, between December 2010 and January 2011.
So devastating was this deluge that it was  labelled biblical, affecting over 70 towns and 200,000 persons. The United States of America, with the greatest irrigation and hydraulic technology, has for the past seven years, witnessed many of its cities struck by extraordinary rise in rivers, fuelled by lengthy periods of heavy rainfall.
The mighty Mississippi in mid – 2011, overflowed its levee system, after one of the largest tornado outbreaks in the nation’s history brought on unprecedented rains. South America, with giant neighbouring Brazil, was visited by floods in its south eastern corridor, resulting in over 500 deaths, and the evacuation of tens of thousands.
Not to forget that even in the CARICOM geographical space, in 2011, island state Trinidad suffered heavily from flooding, compliments of days of voluminous rainfall. Even in Guyana, very high coastal plains such as Lethem in Region 9; Linden in Region 10; and Pomeroon in Region 2, have all suffered from severe flooding in 2011, precipitated by heavy rains. Even at this time of writing, Pomeroon has again experienced another flood. These are indeed unprecedented acts of nature, with regards the unusual, heavy rains, which no earthly power can determine, control or stop.
To add to this  frightening  display of mother nature’s fury, is the fact that the Arctic ice is disappearing alarmingly quickly, causing rivers to become swollen, and is reported by scientists as the cause of the current deadly freeze now sweeping Europe, that has caused over 200 deaths, so far.
For all the interventions to mitigate the effects of flooding that have been forthcoming from the government, Guyanese will have to be more cognisant of the need not to undo such efforts, thereby adding to the challenges of flood protection efforts.