Spring tide hits Mahaicony again

– Public Infrastructure Ministry, contractors still working along the foreshore in Mahaicony

– CDC continues to monitor the situation

DPI, Guyana, Sunday, October 27, 2019

The Ministry of Public Infrastructure has confirmed social media reports that the residents from Columbia to Fairfield Mahaicony have been affected by the current spring tide.

Many of the photos posted online depict flooding in some of the residential areas in the communities.

Since the last period of spring tide that ended October 2, the Public Infrastructure Ministry has spearheaded emergency works to arrest the breaches in the Dantzig to Fairfield area.

Executing those corrective measures are two contractors – BK International and A&S General Contractors Inc.

To date, more than 6,000 tonnes of stone has been delivered to strengthen the severely impacted foreshore. Already, a 100m of rip-rap sea defence structure was constructed at Fairfield.

Concerning the drainage of the Bellamy Canal that runs parallel to the foreshore and the Atlantic Ocean, four diesel pumps were immediately put in place to facilitate maximum drawdown.

The National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) within the Ministry of Agriculture led this operation in which two pumps were positioned in Cottage, and the latter in Dantzig. NDIA also impoldered numerous acres of rice lands to reduce the impact of flooding on residential communities.

However, with much damage done to the foreshore after the last spring tide, corrective measures have been stifled by numerous uncontrollable factors.

To begin, limited access to the breached sites has resulted in the contractors working progressively inwards from both eastern and western ends of the breaches.

Making matters worse were the losses of vital equipment and material. Four barges and one tugboat sank at the foreshore while traversing the treacherous waters to deliver much-needed boulders to the critical sites.

Nevertheless, these challenges have not stopped the government’s efforts to ensure emergency works continue in the face of the current spring tide. Additionally, the Public Infrastructure Ministry, through the contractors, are still working along the foreshore in Mahaicony.

Through multiple ministries and agencies, the government has issued advisories and warning to residents along the coastal belt of Regions 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) has distributed sandbags before the forecasted high tide and continues to monitor the situation at hand.

The commission stands ready to assist residents in the affected areas.