Record rains trigger floods - heaviest rainfall this period in 50 years by Gwen Evelyn Guyana Chronicle February 4, 2000 AGRICULTURE Ministry and other officials are trying to cope with sweeping flood waters along the coast from the heaviest rains this period in 50 years and residents in several villages are counting their losses. Chief Hydromet Officer, Mr Dilip Jaigopaul yesterday said the rains for January this year were more than usual. Rainfall reached 564 millimetres according to records from the Botanical Gardens in Georgetown and this was exceeded only in 1950 when there were 831.1 millimetres of rainfall, he said. Normally, rainfall for January is 185.2 millimetres, Jaigopaul added. He said the excessive rainfall has resulted from an intensification of the Inter Tropical Conversion Zone. However, there is only a 10 per cent chance of rainfall exceeding 400 millimetres this month, Jaigopaul said. Agriculture Minister, Mr Reepu Daman Persaud last night said flood pumps have been deployed in many areas to help draw off excess water on the land but the heavy rains were posing a problem. Records from the ministry's Hydromet Service show that rainfall since December has been three times the normal for the period and while the drainage and irrigation system is designed to take off 1.5 inches of water a day, the daily rainfall in some cases has been seven inches. Agriculture Ministry statistics show districts in Berbice have had up to seven inches of rain in a day. Skeldon has recorded seven inches in one day, Rose Hall 5.4 inches, Blairmont 3.2 inches and Black Bush Polder six inches. Persaud said officials predict there is a 75 per cent chance of higher than normal rainfall this month. Pumps have been deployed at Black Bush Polder and Enmore and Belfield on the East Coast Demerara to help drain off excess water. An Agriculture Ministry team led by Dr Dindyal Permaul, Chief Executive Officer of the Drainage and Irrigation Board, Mr Ravi Narine, General Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers Association, Mr Seeraj and engineering personnel have visited the Lama Conservancy on the East Coast and the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary agriculture scheme. Persaud said water is "at a maximum" in these places and sand bags have been used to stem spilling in some vulnerable areas. Emergency works have commenced on the East Coast conservancy and it is under control, he reported. He said the Drainage and Irrigation department was monitoring all areas constantly and "is doing everything possible to bring relief to the situation and we are appealing for understanding." "We are watching the situation closely", he said, adding that pumps are at work in regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six. Flood waters at Victoria and Enmore, East Coast Demerara have disrupted the lives of many and claimed thousands of dollars in crops and livestock, residents said yesterday. At Victoria, some bridges have disappeared beneath water and the land is completely covered in several places. Houses seem to stand in only water and ducks were yesterday swimming on what used to be land. Desiree Skeete said her pig pen is flooded and six piglets have drowned. Also, 10 of her chickens have died from the water on the land. "And the mosquitoes, I buy spray for them till I weary. Duh killing we," she said. Not far from Desiree, Evadney Adams and Claudette Gillis share the same distress. Adams has a pain in her leg which she is convinced was caused by the water. Her chicken pen is full of water and her daughter's vegetable garden is now gone. "And my turkey cock is dead", she added woefully. Gillis said six of her fowls and two ducks died. She buys mosquito repellant coils by the box because "mosquitoes are plenty". A nephew of Adams has a horrible itch that is raw. The boy, she said, cannot go to school. Further up, Carol Thorne lost 22 piglets that drowned. She has 14 remaining but wonders whether they will survive. Her pig pen, like so many others, is flooded and out of her 30 chickens, two have survived. Jacqueline Williams was not spared either. "This flood affect me terrible. I lost 15 ducks and fowls" the visibly upset resident said from her steps. Her house, like some others behind it, is completely surrounded by water. As she spoke, her neighbour waded out from the back in knee deep water. "My daughter got `ground itch' and the mosquito...terrible", Olivth De Souza complained. Sixteen of her fowls, ducks and turkeys died. Winslow George has a shop which is on land completely covered by the murky, stagnant water. Sitting on the bench on George's shop porch, one can see schools of tiny fish moving just at the edge, in line with the flooring of the porch. There is no sign that land once existed near George's place. He came outside to point at a vast expanse of water near the shop. "That used to be land," he said. George also lost his ducks and fowls. According to George, people living a little more than a quarter of a mile away from him, must take a boat to reach their homes. His sister bought a boat one year ago especially for that purpose. Cries for "Boat!" bring George's relatives out to get residents home dry after a long day's work. The fare is $20 a person and the little canoe takes residents straight to their door steps. Pit latrines are full to capacity with water, George and other residents said, and the filth from within has overflowed to mix with the flood. Since potable water can only be accessed by pipelines on the road, residents had to attach hoses to the lines to get water for cooking, drinking and bathing. Children, George said, cannot go to school. While George spoke, a little boy started out to `shore' from his sister's house in a `karahie' (a heavy, metal pot used for stewing and frying). The boy, naked, rowed expertly with his hands. He was soon joined by another boy in another `karahie'. The two soon broke into a race. A short time later, George's sister rowed out in her canoe. Asked when last the children had gone to school, George and others with him laughed. They had not gone in a long time. One of the boys in his metal boat, pointing to his chest said: "Water meeting me till here. I can't go to school". As he floated, George said there used to be a street right where he was. Residents said the flood waters were there since last December. They eased and when the rains came again, returned. Residents said that whenever it rains, their village floods, killing their turkeys, ducks and chickens. Enmore is in a similar situation. Deryck a resident, made a shaky long bridge that leads from the soggy dam outside his house to the door of his home. The bridge comprises planks of wood placed high up on high stools, blocks and barrels. No ground is visible in Deryck's yard. The water reaches half way up to one's knee. Deryck said he has lost his sheep which have to be tied or let loose on the road instead of the yard. His dog also drowned and he and his wife are yet to assess how many chickens died. Mary Persaud has been living in Enmore for 20 years and though her village is always flooded, she has never seen it this bad. Persaud has her meat birds in her house and chickens in her upstairs bathroom. Lolita Brummel said the women have to wade out from their homes in tights and put on their skirts on the road. Brummel said her bed is on 20 blocks to keep it from getting wet. And her furniture is hung on to the roof. Persaud added that when the women wade out into the water, they carry along a bottle of methylated spirits to kill leeches that cling to their skin. She said that last year a child drowned in flood waters near her. The same thing happened five years ago, Persaud recalled. According to her, Enmore has two kokers and neither has worked for more than 20 years. She is convinced that activating the kokers can solve the problem. A small boat also operates at Enmore, moving residents back and forth for a fare of $20 a person. Persaud said that since many persons' latrines have overflowed, people defecate in paper or plastic and throw it into the flood waters.