Dear Editor,
In Guyana climate change is presenting us with greater and even greater challenges, especially during periods of heavy rainfall. In many communities’ residents are experiencing major water accumulation in their yards, homes and streets, which is adding to the burdens we face, due to the discomfort, destruction of household items the loss of livestock and livelihoods, not to mention the increased probability of infectious diseases.
Adding to our troubles is the fact that the saturated soil means that trees and electrical poles can fall and cause injury and damage to property at any time.
Children, the elderly and people with disabilities are all at a disadvantage, trapped indoors while their homes remain under water for days with no place of refuge. Some schools have to be closed with children being sent home due to the flooded yards and toilets and absent teachers who themselves have to cope with these conditions.
We are experiencing severe floods because of clogged canals, inadequate drainage and the intense rainfalls. With the drainage unable to cope with the high volume of water, streets begin to flood. Businesses suffer and with crops being destroyed the supply of fresh food is also affected.
Everybody is trying to raise the level of their yard and concreting the land, trying to reduce the impact on their household. This ends up causing more water to run into drains and canals.
The flood waters pose health risks especially for poorer families. The stagnant water becomes contaminated from the human waste and dead animals, mosquitoes have lavish breeding grounds, and we are made vulnerable to the spread of many water- borne diseases. The constant flooding due to clogged drainage causes damage to buildings, roadways and walkways.
I am calling on the relevant authorities, the Mayor and City Council and the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Agriculture the NDCs etc. to ensure that the kokers, canals and drains are cleaned/ desilted and maintained on a regular basis.
Proper roads are essential but regular maintenance needs to be put in place to minimize flooding, Since the building of the new roads and expansions, there is no system put in place to facilitate the increasing run-off of rain water. More drains/ trenches should be built and not filled in to widen roads or clogged because of construction, whether it be building/expansion of roads, houses or business places.
Citizens also must take responsibility to properly dispose of our garbage and not dump trash into the canals or drains.
But the NDCs and town councils must also play their part by doing regular trash collection. Littering must be avoided at all cost. Stop dumping your garbage on the roadside, stop throwing your empty beverage bottles, food boxes, snack wrappers out the bus window and taxi, onto the roadways and out the boats into our rivers. Pollution does not affect one, it affects all even though some of us may feel the brunt of it depending on our locations and situations In all the years I live in Georgetown from childhood, I have never seen so many streets flooded after a few hours of rainfall. Places like the seawall road, Ogle aerodromes were affected and flooded out.
A considerable section of the Coastline is below sea level and we have to depend on the canals and drains, to store rainwater runoff during hightide when the kokers are closed to drain the water. Now with more intense rainstorms and longer rainy season we will have a greater drainage problem leading to flooding in more and more communities.
This is a serious matter that threatens our lives and livelihoods and it requires more serious and considered attention than Ministerial walkabouts after the damage is done.