Region 3 REO calls for investigation

By Indrawattie Natram

RESIDENTS living in San-Souci and Meville- two villages on the Island of Wakenaam, Region Three, were on Monday busy cleaning their houses and yards as flood waters continue to recede after excessive high tide over the weekend, breached the sea defence in the area.

According to information reaching the Guyana Chronicle, the breach had been sealed and residents are returning to a life of normalcy. The affected households were on Sunday given detergents by Region Three officials to use during cleaning. According to Regional Executive Officer, Denis Jaikarran, a team from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, CORE committee, is presently on site assessing the situation and assisting residents in cleaning and moving items. Jaikarran also said, a medical team is on the Island making checks on residents ensuring that no one is affected by any water-borne diseases.

Speaking on Sunday’s breach, Jaikarran said he is calling for a thorough investigation to be launched into the massive Wakenaam flooding. “I would like for an investigation to be launched into the flooding to ascertain the real cause. I have viewed pictures and footage of the flooding and to date I cannot comprehend the real cause that led to the erosion. With the investigation, we would be able to say directly if it’s the contractor’s negligence or anyone else,” Jaikarran said.

The Region Three REO said that he visited immediately after reports were made and met with residents. He is however pleased with the response that was given by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure to assist residents. This newspaper was told that the contractor has made a commitment to replace the floor mats of a mosque that was flooded as well as to assist the play school that is nearby. The mosque and the school have been closed since to the flooding.

Residents are currently in the process of cleaning, after which the second phase will see officials from Civil Defence Commission (CDC) making an assessment of residents’ losses. Thus far, there have been no reports of illnesses and the health centre is providing residents with assistance.

Head of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) Lieutenant Kester Craig, who was on the island to conduct an assessment and deliver cleaning supplies to the 49 affected households, said that the highest tide was at 17:30hrs this evening and checks in the affected communities have indicated that the remedial works have been effective so far.

There were no breaches or overtopping. He, however, noted that the CDC was able to provide supplies to the affected families to aid in their clean-up efforts while the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) and the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) will be conducting further checks in the coming days to assess the damages per household.

Colonel Craig said that the rapid response by the regional administration was due to the Regional Multi-Hazard Preparedness and Response Plan, which the CDC had helped the region to formulate. The RDC was able to activate its Disaster Risk Management Committee and actively respond to the affected areas. As such, the CDC was only tasked with dispatching supplies and offering guidance.

This is the first time that the CDC has been able to respond, conduct assessments and provide supplies in the same day. The Director General said that this supports the Commission’s mission of formulating Regional Multi-Hazard Preparedness and Response Plans and putting Disaster Risk Management Committees in place in all of the regions. “The Civil Defence Commission is extremely pleased with the work of the RDC. They have mobilised and this is why the Regional Multi-Hazard Preparedness and Response Plan is important. CDC is just here to lend support to the region and respond to the situation. We have provided the necessary cleaning and hygiene supplies,” he said.

Affected resident, Irfaan Ali, who lives next to the mosque, said that his house was severely affected by the flood waters. He estimated that his damages amounted to more than 2 million dollars. Ali, with the help of relatives, managed to put all the damaged appliances outside and has cleaned his house. He is questioning who will compensate his family for the damages and how soon it will be done.

Like Ali, other residents are asking similar questions. Residents are calling for the removal of the sea defence engineer, saying that he seldom visits the project and as such, it is alleged that the contractor does what he wants. They are contending that if the project was properly supervised then Sunday’s flooding could have been avoided. The breach in the seawall has affected close to 100 residents in the area.