The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) is calling on government to craft a National Disaster Preparedness Plan as torrential rains continue to batter Guyana. Party Leader Robert Corbin, at that party’s weekly media briefing, said it is time that government makes the Civil Defence Commission and national disaster preparedness matters of national priority, in light of recent natural disasters striking several countries around the world.
PNCR leader Robert Corbin
Corbin believes the absence of a National Disaster Preparedness Plan could only cause “panic and pandemonium” should disaster strike Guyana, and he opined that this could exacerbate the effects of a disaster.
“What is the evacuation plan?” he questioned. “Where are the equipment and facilities to facilitate the execution of any plan at all? Where are citizens to assemble in the various villages in such eventualities? Where are (located) temporary housing facilities after evacuation?”
The opposition leader believes that these are critical questions that must be answered in the Parliament concerning any National Disaster Preparedness Plan. This is especially necessary with Guyana’s coast, where the capital is located, being below-sea-level, making it prone to flooding.
“The experiences of Guyanese during the massive floods of 2005 demonstrate that we have not yet developed the capacity to deal with such disasters,” Corbin pointed out. He thinks it was almost a miracle that the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC) dam was not seriously breached then. “It is still frightening to contemplate how, with inadequate facilities, evacuation of citizens from the below-sea-level coastline would have been accomplished.”
According to him, the dangers still exist today. “After only two weeks of rain, several villages along the coast as well as those along the banks of our main rivers are inundated. Rice, ground provision and green vegetable farmers have suffered severe losses, while many villages have been under water, thus curtailing normal economic activity.”
As such, the PNCR sees it as imperative that government “treat as a matter of national priority the effective and efficient organisation of the Civil Defence Commission.” The PNCR believes that nothing can be more frustrating than the lack of public information about standard operational procedures should any serious eventuality occur.
