Continued support for Region Five flood-affected residents

Flood-affected residents of Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) continue to receive support from the Regional Administration and other stakeholders.

Communities including Little and Big Biaboo, Hyde Park, Esau & Jacob, Mora Point, Water Dog Creek, Karamat, Pine Ground, Burma Housing Scheme, and Lower Moraikobai village, among others, were severely affected by the countrywide flooding in May.

Regional Vice Chairman, Rion Peters said while the floodwaters have receded in some areas, other communities remain affected.

“The water in the three rivers- Mahaicony, Mahaica and Abary are still a bit high, hence it is affecting persons who are residing directly on the banks of these rivers and also low-lying farmlands are somewhat affected to date.”

He added, “the region as we speak is still monitoring the situation and we are still supporting affected residents by providing them potable water, food hampers and those hampers were made possible by the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and also by private contributions from citizens.”

To this end, Peters is encouraging others to join the administration in assisting residents.

“You are also aware that no less than a person, His Excellency, [Dr] Mohamed Irfaan Ali committed to providing (fund) relief to those farmers and households that were affected. While that programme has not been rolled out as yet in the region, we are optimistic that our affected residents will soon benefit from those resources,” he said.

In May, President Ali led a national response to assist persons who suffered losses during the natural disaster. The exercise saw the establishment of several shelters for displaced persons, where food and sanitation relief supplies were provided.

An assessment was also undertaken to determine the extent of losses and the long-term support persons would need to restart their livelihoods.

It was found that over 300 communities and 52,000 households were affected and the Government secured some $10 billion for flood relief efforts.