-CDC to meet with regional officials

WITH more unusually heavy rainfall anticipated, and a strong likelihood that it will result in floods across the country, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) is expected to meet with regional officials this week to discuss plans to mitigate the impact of flooding.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, Chief Hydromet Officer, Dr. Garvin Cummings, confirmed that hydromet data is estimating that the country will continue to see higher than normal levels of rainfall, akin to what Guyana experienced last year November, and which peaked with unprecedented flooding in May/June this year.

Dr. Cummings explained that the Hydromet Office is able to forecast for up to six months and, thus far, from all indications Guyana can expect a recurrence of what was experienced last November.

“It is difficult to say at this time whether it will top last year, but we are forecasting a wetter than normal rainy season…we are expecting extremely wet conditions,” Dr Cummings said.
He added: “Given the fact that we are forecasting above normal rainfall, there is a strong likelihood of flooding.”

Beginning from November 2020, Guyana experienced month-on-month unprecedented high levels of rainfall that caused unprecedented flooding all across the country. Though the country is usually prone to flooding, the flooding is usually most common in areas along the coast. However, last year’s situation led to flooding in all regions, with Regions Two, Five, Six and 10 being severely affected.

President Irfaan Ali had declared the situation a national disaster. Agriculture and mining were some of the hardest hit sectors, and in some cases entire communities had to be evacuated. Billions of dollars were later distributed in flood-relief to mitigate some of the impact caused by the flooding.

In its forecast for November 2021 to January 2022, the Hydromet Office, in a Seasonal Climate Outlook report, noted that Regions One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Seven and the northern part of Regions Six, Eight and 10 are expected to be usually wet, while Region Nine and other areas are expected to be dry.

“As the season progresses, water level in conservancies, reservoirs and inland rivers in Regions 1 to northern 6, 7 and 10 is expected to reach maximum capacity. Flooding in Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10 northern 6 and 8, as a result of persistent rain is a developing concern. Therefore, drainage intervention is highly recommended where and when possible,” the report warned.

PREPARING
Meanwhile, CDC’s Preparedness and Response Manager, Major Salim October, told the Guyana Chronicle that the commission is aware of the expectations. The CDC is in charge of disaster management in Guyana.

“We are in the process of analysing and looking at what those predictions are and during the course of this week we will look at using that data to forewarn all of the regions, so that they can engage with the NDC to ensure that all drains are desilted [and] all outfalls are cleared. For the city council, it will be to ensure all the pumps are working,” October explained.

Questioned about the early evacuation of residents from flooding hotspots, Major October noted that such a task is not always easy since it is dependent on the residents volunteering to leave, which they often are not willing to do.

He pointed out that in many of the flood-prone areas, there is a high amount of squatting, and residents are not supposed to be residing in there.

“These repeat impact will affect communities that are irregularly set up, so the normal drainage systems that are supposed to be in place are not in place. The usual consideration for building, and the necessary infrastructure are not in place. It doesn’t matter the forewarning or how you engage with the communities, once there is an excessive amount of rainfalls, and they are still there, there will be flooding and they know that” October explained.

He noted that the most the CDC could do at this point is to engage the local government organs such as the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs) and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) to speak with residents about the coming months.

”The most we can do is warn people, engage with the municipalities, NDCs and RDCs and indicate to them that we expect further rainfall and therefore it is imperative for them to look at these different hotspots,” he said.
He noted, however, that extra attention is being placed on the drainage system to ensure they are functioning at optimum capacity.

“In some communities right now, there are some desilting of drains going on,” he added.