A TEAM from the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) including its Director-General Colonel Chabilall Ramsarup and CDC Deputy Director-General Major Kester Craig will accompany Minister of State Joseph Harmon on a visit to Lethem (Region 9) on Wednesday to assess the situation regarding the El Nino crisis.
The intention of Wednesday’s visit is to do an assessment of communities in the region affected by the prolonged dry weather. This assessment comes on the basis of reports and information received by the CDC from the Regional Executive Officer (REO) of that region, a release from the CDC said. The region has thus far activated the Region 9 Emergency Response Centre and is prepared to deploy supplies including water tanks, water pumps and water purification tablets. According to Craig, those items were positioned in the region and some sub-districts since April of this year.
During Wednesday’s visit also it is expected that a location will be identified to construct a warehouse where supplies can be stored making them easily accessible in the event of future, similar emergencies. Only on Monday, a group of concerned citizens in Lethem, Rupununi, got together to form the “El Nino Committee”.
Members of the Committee are: Bryan Allicock, Regional Chairman; Rene Edwards of Conservation International; Roger King of the Rupununi Chamber of Commerce; and Clairmont Lye of Beacon Foundation, a release from Lye said.
The committee aims to sensitise residents in the Rupununi to the adverse effects on their lives by the El Nino phenomenon. “Several indicators already point to an extreme situation in coming months. The level of the Rupununi River is over 15 feet below its normal level for this time of the year, and sandbanks have already started to show in the Takutu River at Lethem at what is traditionally the end of the rainy season. Farmers have also reported that the unusually high temperature is affecting their crops,” Lye said in a release.
He said it is expected that pipe-borne water might reach critical levels in another two or three months. “If this happens, then Lethem will experience a severe water shortage from January to April next year.” Through regular bulletins to each household in Lethem and St Ignatius Village, the committee will advise residents on ways to conserve water. The committee is also making efforts to source a short-term variety of cassava out of Brazil for farmers to plant without delay in low-lying areas. Relevant government agencies are being alerted to the situation