Flooded for days, Upper Pomeroon communities plead for help

By Isanella Patoir

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The communities of Karawab and St Monica in the Upper Pomeroon River of Region Two were on the way to recovery following the massive flood they experienced six months ago, but today, they are again completely devastated as the majority of their farmlands and houses are under five to six feet of water.

“We had [a flood] in May and it last for a good while, we were now trying to catch back ourselves to plant again and now we are experiencing this again,” the Toshao for the two villages, Eve Samuels told the News Room on Tuesday.

Following hours of heavy rainfall on Thursday last, the water began rising in the communities.

“It is affecting the farmers drastically, because most of who planted all the crops are covered,” the Toshao said.

She further added, “Friday, [the flood] started but presently it rising like daily and from what I learn [from the] men coming from the river head [is that] the water upper river is like you can’t identify the creeks from the river, the water is just high.

“Right now, the water is five to six feet high at Karawab and three to four feet at St Monica,” Toshao Samuels explained. She said the situation is worrisome and so she pleaded for assistance from the government.

The communities have managed to get some form of support from the regional authorities but more help is needed. The News Room understands that all the taps to access water in the communities are under floodwater.

“I think we need water, please we need water, water is very important at this time because this water coming down is well contaminated and it is not healthy for consumption, for cooking,” the Toshao pleaded.

The Toshao is also pleading for water tanks to store water in addition to other food supplies.

Meanwhile, the Village Council has set up a building in Karawab to accommodate the flood affected residents whose houses are inundated but according to Samuels, some residents are reluctant to relocate.

The community centre at St Monica is also being set up as a shelter for the affected residents. The News Room understands that health workers from the region also visited the communities on Tuesday to assess the situation.

“We are suffering for four days now in the flood and we need help urgently,” Karawab’s midwife, Monica Samuels told the News Room.

The communities are also faced with poor phone signal which has been hampering contact with the authorities.

“The signal is not good. We normally go to certain place to get little signal; at the health post we have to stand at the door and at the window to wait for signal and sometimes it doesn’t connect,” Monica explained.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips on Wednesday highlighted that Region Two is an area of concern and a team from the Civil Defence Commission was dispatched to assess the situation.