TORRENTIAL rains coupled with an unusually high tide resulted in massive flooding across the city with Albouystown among some of the communities hardest hit. Nicola Macbeth said she woke up Friday morning to find her Bel Air Street, Albouystown home in water. “The whole house flood out, everything wet up,” Macbeth said, as she complained bitterly about the situation. “Girl I ain’t know what I gun do,” the mother of two added as she made her way to work through the floodwaters.

Tonza Beaton said she was able to prevent the water from getting into her house with the use of sandbags. “Lil bit more the water would have come in but the vehicles all of dem keep driving, although we telling them when they drive the water coming in we house but them ain’t kay,” she complained.
Complaining bitterly about the situation, Beaton said the residents of Albouystown placed drums and other obstacles to prevent vehicles from traversing through the affected community, but the makeshift barricades were removed by ranks attached to the Guyana Police Force. “Is like dem ain’t understand. I done decorate for Christmas and I wouldn’t like fuh duh water to come in me house at all.” Beaton’s neighbour Talisa Dundas, of James Street, Albouystown, said the floods had caught her off-guard. “I didn’t expect this at all. The water de coming in lil bit but after a while it keep raising. I had to run and pick up me things them,” she related. Dundas complained that it was not so long ago that she had purchased a refrigerator, and now it is at risk of being damaged.
Another resident said after returning home from work about 09:00hrs, she met a flooded house. “Is seven of us living here. By de time I get home, they had start packing up, all I could have done was help,” the woman told the Guyana Chronicle.

In James Street Albouystown, Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson, was heard explaining the situation to residents as she pleaded with them to have patience. “What we are experiencing here is as a result of high tide. …we would have done extensive work of clearing the drains and the main canal since we took office,” Minister Ferguson told the Guyana Chronicle.
In addition to visiting Albouystown, Minister Ferguson visited South, East and West Ruimveldt. Town Clerk of the Georgetown Mayor and City Council, Royston King, said that the city engineers are in the field clearing blockages and chokes in canals. “We will continue to monitor the situation. Our engineers continue to monitor the situation and we will keep the public informed as we go along. The city engineers are in communication with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and the Ministry of Agriculture,”King said.

The Town Clerk also used the opportunity to call on citizens “not to dump garbage in waterways, so that we can have a free flow of water when we have these situations”. Citizens are also being called on to take precautionary measures as this pattern of rainfall can be expected for several more days, during the remainder of the month. Over at North Road, strong winds uprooted a tree in the vicinity of Innovation America. Unable to solicit the services of the council to have the tree removed from across the street, proprietors of the store hired several handymen to remove the debris.