CDEMA Deploys Disaster Assessment Teams to Guyana
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) on Wednesday officially deployed five Detailed Damage Sectoral Assessment (DDSA) teams to Guyana to report on sectors affected by escalated flooding.
The Civil Defence Commission (CDC) called on CDEMA to prepare a damage and loss estimate report which will be compiled after teams assess the key Regions 2 (Pomeroon-Supenaam), 5 (Mahaica-Berbice), 6 (East Berbice-Corentyne), 7 (Cuyumi-Mazaruni) and 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice).
“CDEMA commends the CDC for its leadership and is pleased to work in collaboration with our regional and international partners to provide support to the government and people of Guyana. I would also like to thank USAID, who is providing financial support for the deployment of the DDSA teams under the Caribbean Climate Resilience initiative,” CDEMA’s Acting Executive Director Elizabeth Riley said.
The DDSA teams comprise of personnel from the regional and international agencies of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
They will be assigned assess damage to the health, water and sanitation, infrastructure, agriculture, mining, social sector and shelter.
The deployment will last approximately 10 to 12 days, and a final report will be presented to the CDC and Government of Guyana.
Flooding in Guyana commenced around mid-May, following extreme rainfall associated with the Intertropical Conversion Zone (ITCZ) and low-level troughs affecting Northern and Southern Guyana).
The CDC and other local authorities initially responded to flooding reports mainly in Regions 2, 6, 7, 9 (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and 10.
As of June 18 to the 21, Regions 10, 7, 6, 5, 2 are most impacted with water entering homes, livestock and domestic animals remain in distress and farmlands are inundated which has led to crop damage.
