–to address rising floodwaters caused by torrential rainfall

OVER the past two days, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) executed a series of emergency works in the Mahaicony–Abary area, Region Five, following instances of flooding due to continuous and heavy rainfall.

After receiving reports of flooding in several parts of the region, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha immediately implemented systems to have the area drained and to minimize any further instances of flooding.
While giving an overview of some of the works undertaken in response to flooding in the affected areas, Minister Mustapha said a mobile pump was installed and several drainage canals were cleared along with the installation of tubes and the construction of embankments.

“After I received reports of flooding in those areas, I immediately instructed NDIA to visit the area to see what can be done to have these areas drained in the shortest possible time. So far, we’ve installed an 80 Cusec Pump at Little Abary sluice to complement that structure.

“We were also able to carry out emergency works on several drainage canals. We cleaned the western and eastern sideline dams in Little Abary, Catherine, Recess, Park, Fellowship, and Good Faith,” Minister Mustapha said.
He went on to say that the ministry also did some work in Ball Field Street, Calcutta. In addition to those works, NDIA was also able to install tubes to assist with improved drainage in Airy Hall, Dundee, Good Faith, Recess, Cathrine, and in the northern swamplands from Food Faith to Novar.

Minister Mustapha also said that Chairman for the NDIA, Lionel Wordsworth, along with NDIA’s regional engineers were on the ground to assess the situation and oversee the works.
He related that a team from NDIA and the region will be monitoring the situation in Region Five and other affected regions along the coast and other parts of the country on a 24-hour basis.

Minister Mustapha also encouraged persons to remain alert, as Guyana is currently experiencing above-normal rainfall as part of the ongoing May-June rainy period.
As of Monday, 70 per cent of the water from Huntley to Abary in Region Five had receded due to consistent drainage and cleaning operations.

Chief Meteorological Officer Dr Garvin Cummings in his report, said that Region Five had the most rainfall (five inches) from Sunday through to Monday (24 hours).
Precipitation was above normal in some areas which greatly exceeded drainage capacity and surface runoff, which has been made worse due to ground saturation, particularly in low-lying and riverain areas.