UUSUALLY high tides early yesterday caused intense flooding in several coastal communities in Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo including Skeldon, Uitvlugt, Den Amstel, Groenveldt and, Leonora, Bel Air Springs and Liliedaal.

Ocean View, Uitvlugt
RESIDENTS told the Guyana Chronicle that they were awakened at about 03:00 hrs by the raging waves lashing against the seawall. Waves hit the sea wall with such furious force that the sounds could have heard miles away.
Within minutes almost every home nearby the seawall was flooded, with water gushing into yards and bedrooms and living rooms.
Many residents suffered damage to their furniture and household appliances.
The unusually high tides lasted for several hours calming down and receding at around 09:00 hrs but many homes were still under water up to that time.
Several residents told the Guyana Chronicle that when the raging waves began hitting the seawall they became fearful that it might have caused a breach but fortunately this did not happen, averting a major disaster.
However, residents said that while the flooding was due to the unusually high tide its severity would have been less if the drainage system around the community was in a better shape.
According to the residents several complaints were made to the Tuschen/Uitvligt Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), which has responsibility for the community’s drainage system, about the poor state of drainage around the community but there has been no response from the NDC.

Bel Air Springs
As certain sections of the country continue to be affected by flooding due the recent high tide and overtopping of the seawalls, Bel Air Springs, Georgetown is just one of the many areas where residents can be seen wading through the waters and bailing water from the bottom flat of their houses.
While paying a visit to the area yesterday this newspaper caught up with Tony Ramcharan, owner of Tony Auto Spares, who said that it was around 05:30 hrs when he got home that he realised there was about 12 inches of water and mud in the bottom flat of his house.
He stated that since then he along with several workers have been working to restore the residence to its normal state, something which was still being done when his residence was visited late yesterday afternoon.
Sand bags could been seen at the various entrances of the house, as part of the pre-cautionary measure to prevent further flooding, and workers were hard at work mopping mud from the floor of the house.
According to Ramcharan, a lot of damages were incurred to his property, including various electrical appliances such as a television and stereo set, as well as some of his vehicles which cannot be started.
Ramcharan opined that this flooding has been occurring too often and making particular reference to his area, he noted that the placement of sand bags at the intersection of the road to enter the area could have prevented such an occurrence.
He further stated that flooding could also be avoided if persons are better informed so that they can take precautionary measures.
Ramcharan maintained that for him, it’s not about what was lost, but it’s about when it’s going to happen again and what can be done to prevent it.
Meanwhile, residents were warned of a possible reoccurrence of a high tide between 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM yesterday with waves about 1 meter high.
The Ministry of Public Works advised persons countrywide to desist from converging at the Georgetown Sea walls.
Public Works Minister, Robeson Benn confirmed that a drainage sluice (koker) at Windsor Castle, Essequibo Coast has been damaged by the force of the waves. He said a team has been deployed to begin remedial works there.
He said the Rupert Craig Highway would remain closed until Monday morning because the next high tide would be at 15:00 hrs on Sunday. The height would be 2.94 meters. Authorities are expected to clean up the thick and slippery sludge left behind whenever the water recedes.
The high tide and closure of the area means that there would not be the usual Sunday evening ‘lime’ on the seawall.
On the outskirts of central Georgetown, in the Liliendaal-Blygezight area, residents woke up to several inches of heavily silted coffee brown water in their yards. The high tide and closure of the area means that there would not be the usual Sunday evening ‘lime’ on the seawall.
On the outskirts of central Georgetown, in the Liliendaal-Blygezight area, residents woke up to several inches of heavily silted coffee brown water in their yards. The Public Works Minister said that although the Liliendaal pump was working, several drains and trenches in the area were blocked preventing the water from running off the land.
“The tertiary drainage is blocked up all around so the water has nowhere to go even though there is capacity at the Liliendaal Pump Station to take the water,” he said. Workers were feverishly cleaning some of the blockages ahead of efforts with the Georgetown City Council to do some more work in Bel Air, northern Kitty, Subryanville.
Benn said Sunday morning’s tide was not expected to be so high, an occurrence he attributed to gusty winds on the Atlantic Ocean. He explained that the tide was 3.11 meters high plus another 1.5 meters of waves were riding on top. “There is some disturbance out there. They checked up to Saturday afternoon and there wasn’t anything showing up on the meteorological…” he said.