RESIDENTS who live in the flood-affected areas along the coast of Mahaica-Berbice are happy that the water has started to clear their lands, since the spring tide has passed.
Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture Valerie Adams-Yearwood on Friday handed out 200 food hampers to residents of the flood-affected areas along the coast.

Minister Yearwood said that when she was on the coast on Thursday, she heard the issues from the residents and she understood that some persons lost crops while some lost poultry and so much more due to the flood. She added that some of the issues cannot be fully addressed immediately.

“I said that the ministry of Agriculture will be distributing some food hampers and I kept that promise, I have one team which started from Zealand and we will go right down to Dantzig, and every resident who was affected by the flood will receive a hamper,” Minister Yearwood said.

Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Frederick Flatts, said that, the function of the NDIA was to get the water off the land, and the plan is to build a secondary dam between Fairfield and Dantzig. The secondary dam will be very high above the land.

He added that it was a plan that existed but did not find favour with some senior functionaries. However, with effect from Monday, the NDIA would be having 12 excavators in the area to build the secondary dam. The flooding will be restricted between the dam and the sea defence so that flooding during every spring tide will come to an end.

“When we think about the upcoming rainy season most of us would realize if we get rainfall in this present situation we would be in a mess. We will be digging a drain and using the material to build a dam. The dam will be on the seaward side………….” Flatts said.
“We are confident that the expected spring tide in November we will not see what we are seeing in this season. And with all that Mr. Flatts said it clearly shows that the government is concerned about your flooding issues,” Minister Yearwood added.

Some of the residents also raised their issues about the dams being blocked and the water not being able to run off freely, since all the water from other neighboring villages was being drained into one village (Fairfield).

“We were badly affected by the flood all of our rice land was under water, we couldn’t go anywhere the water was over my knee, all my ducks and chickens die out. I am so grateful and thankful to the Minister for what was done for us today because we needed it,” said, Annette a resident of high dam.

Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman, was also on the coast of Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) with his team distributing hampers to some of the residents of the flood-affected areas.

Guyana Chronicle reported, Friday that it visited the area which was breached and observed that contractors were putting in boulders to hold off water coming onto the land. The contractors said using boulders to mitigate the amount of water coming onto the land was a temporary solution.