– Regional Vice-Chairman

VENDORS at the Suddie Market in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) on Sunday morning were flooded out, which according to the region’s Vice-Chairman Humace Odit is not a normal occurrence.

Several of those affected took to social media to highlight the issue. They called on the authorities to provide better drainage systems, following what they called “consistent flooding at the market.”

It is unclear whether any of the vendors suffered significant loss due to the flood.
Odit in an invited comment told the Guyana Chronicle that the flooding at the market is not a normal occurrence. In response to the vendors’ calls for improved drainage systems, the regional official clarified that the flooding was caused by a combination of heavy rainfall and a high tide, and not poor irrigation.

“The flood in the market actually was caused because the tide was high, so the operators were not able to open the sluice because the tide was high, and it just so happened that it was raining at the same time. We couldn’t get to draw the water out, so that actually caused the water to lodge there at the market. So, that’s why it didn’t recede and the market experienced some flooding,” Odit explained.
He further stated that as far as he is aware there are no drainage or irrigation issues at the market that could have caused the flooding, or would cause a similar flooding incident in the future.

“There aren’t any irrigation or drainage issues there. It was just a case where the koker could not be opened because it was high tide and the water would have rushed inwards and cause major flooding. That is how kokers operate. Once it is high tide we cannot open them and it just so happened that the rain was falling at the same time, so the water could not run out,” said Odit.

He informed that the market was the only place in Suddie to have experienced flooding as a result of the heavy rainfall.