CDEMA to conduct damage assessment in Guyana after flooding

SOURCE: CMC — Approximately 30 technical officials from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) are set to arrive in Guyana next week to begin a detailed damage sectoral assessment of the recent floods, which have devastated some regions.

An advance CDEMA team met the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) on Thursday to plan next week’s activities.

Members of the Civil Defence Commission and representatives from CDEMA and PAHO-WHO.

“The purpose of the assessment is to really get the total extent of damages and to also to come up with estimations for recovery actions and that is a sector-based assessment that require teams going to the most affected regions – Regions Two Five, Six, Seven and Ten,” CDC’s Director General, Lieutenant Colonel, Kester Craig explained.

“The team would be spending about between eight to ten days in terms of getting fieldwork and data, and I think they have a couple of days or so to prepare the report and send it to the Government for approval and implementation as necessary.”

Additionally, Lt Col Craig said, the report would help Guyana to access funding from international bodies as the team boasts representatives from numerous regional agencies, which are partnering with CDEMA to execute the assessment.

He also said the CDEMA team would be supported by CDC personnel as well as heads of agencies within the relevant ministries, and key persons within the various administrative regions.

Craig noted that the assessment will be done in the mining, agriculture, health, water, sanitation, infrastructure (roads, bridges, housing) and social sectors.

Meanwhile, CDEMA’s Programme Manager for Preparedness and Response, Joanne Persad said the regional body is “here to give the best support we can”.

“We are very pleased to be here to give support to Guyana and we stand in solidarity with Guyana, and will offer any technical assistance, relief support, logistics support that we can provide once requested.”

Persad said CDEMA executes its functions on the principles of, “build back better, of reducing risk, building resilience and reducing vulnerability”, and said she expects that the work the team will do over the next few weeks would “hopefully support that effort in Guyana.”

The Government was able to benefit from support from CDEMA after President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s proclamation that Guyana is experiencing a national disaster due to flooding.

The CDC had elevated flooding across the country to a Level Two Disaster. CDEMA describes this level as one in which the nation’s capacity to respond is not overwhelmed, but some external assistance is acquired.