CDC continues to address spring tide situation
DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, October 30, 2019
The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) continues to engage and assist residents in low-lying communities as the unusually high tides continue.
On Wednesday, the commission continued its assessment and distribution exercise in the Essequibo-Islands, West-Demerara Region (Region 3).
Speaking to the Department of Public Information (DPI), CDC Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, Olive Gopaul stated that following assessments of the spring tides in September, the commission was readily prepared for the impact this would have had in low-lying communities. “One of the things we did was start an early public relations campaign… so it meant that residents along the coastal plain that we anticipated would have been affected by this, received notification early as to what to expect and the level at which the tides are coming in.”
According to the CDC official, this was met with a positive response from residents in affected communities.
“When the tides hit, people were grateful for the early warnings as it was very useful. It meant that persons had ample time and knew exactly what measures to take to prepare themselves to lessen the impact of the tide,” she said.
The commission visited the communities of Den Amstel, Hague, Stewartville and Anna Catherina where they spoke with affected residents and distributed hampers which included sanitation supplies.
Over in Stewartville, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) continued to work assiduously to repair the damaged parts of the Stewartville koker door. On Tuesday evening, a section of the koker door was damaged, as approximately 4-5 boards were reportedly broken.
Uitvlugt Estate Field Superintendent, Ravindra Ramnarine, told DPI that the temporary door is expected to be put in place before the tide comes in on Wednesday afternoon. He explained that the “false door” will help mitigate the rising water levels in the community’s canal.
As the CDC continues to monitor the tides, residents are urged to be aware of their surroundings and observe precautionary measures. They are advised to report any instance of overtopping or breach of sea defence to the CDC on (592) 226-1114, 226-8815, 226-1027 or 225-5847, or their 24 Hours National Emergency Monitoring System (NEMS) on (592) 623-1700 and 600-7500.