Dear Editor,
THE earth tremor we felt in Guyana, on the back of an earthquake in neighbouring Venezuela was certainly one of the most shocking events lately. It draws attention back to our most recent local natural disaster, the floods at Kwakwani last month, and our preparedness for these types of events.

Of course, Guyana seems to be blessed with truly great luck, as we suffer from very few large scale natural disasters due to our geographic location. Not so with our South American peers, Chile being a prime example and if anything, this is even more of a concern in the Caribbean, which is so prone to hurricanes.

We should nonetheless be cautious, however, and put in place the requisite structures to deal with such events. These can be expanded if the scale of disasters we experience grows, but at least we have been able to see the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) in action in last month’s floods. These affected an estimated 300 people.

The Civil Defence Commission was quickly in place to assess the situation and continued to monitor flood water levels throughout. When the floods began to recede, they then followed up with vital cleaning and disinfecting supplies, to limit the risk of any infectious diseases taking hold and wreaking havoc with local residents.

This shows foresight which likely stopped an outbreak by mosquitos which could certainly have turned deadly. It is therefore very encouraging to see such a response locally, and we should all get behind the Civil Defence Commission and related ministries, which together help ensure the Guyanese safety in times of need.

Regards,
Shawn James