Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:49 AM
Apr 30, 2016 News
‘We are still not out of the woods’— says REO
The arrival of the rainy season has brought relief for hundreds of people living in the Rupununi—a region stricken with a severe drought for months.
Reports coming out of the region stated that the rains hit the Rupununi these past two weeks and villagers are seeing their wells, lakes and river overflowing. The region was lashed with a wave of El Nino for over eight months, causing authorities to declare a state of emergency.
The Rupununi has never been hit by a drought of this magnitude since 1988. Neither the residents nor the government was prepared for it. This heatwave begun early in 2015, and increased over the ensuing few months.
El Nino was not only confined to the Rupununi. The drought also hit parts of Region One. It was in this same region, in the latter part of last year that there was an outbreak of gastroenteritis.
The drought left villagers scurrying for water to drink and bathe, resulting in monetary relief amounting to $8 million. Twenty-four wells are being drilled across the Region to aid the programme.
Regional Executive Officer, Carl Parker, on Thursday stated that the water levels are rising significantly. He stated that a well in Gunn Strip, which villagers were afraid would fail due to the sweltering heat wave, was now overflowing.
“We are in a better position than we were two or three weeks ago,” he said. However, he indicated that this does not mean that the region was “out of the woods.”
The scorching heat destroyed crops in the region and left the savannahs, almost unrecognizable. The savannahs looked like dry wastelands. There were also reports of cattle falling dead in the savannahs. The fish were dead or were dying since most of the rivers, lakes and pond had dried out, reports indicated.
Parker explained that approximately 85% of the hand dug wells in the Region were dry, while 50% of those built by GWI had ceased to function properly. The most drought stricken areas were the South Pakaraimas, YorongParu, Paipang, Taushida, Tiger Pond and Rukumuta, which are all receiving relief from the CDC.
El Niño is the natural warming of parts of the Pacific that alters weather worldwide. It occurs every several years and last nearly a year.
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