A significant amount of flood mapping for the communities of Little and Big Biaboo in Upper Mahaica has been completed to date, and water level gauges have been installed at Little Baiboo (health centre), Maduni and St Cuthbert’s Mission.
In addition, a rain gauge has also been installed at St Cuthbert’s Mission. This was revealed when the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), along with specialists of the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (JICA) briefed  representatives of relevant stakeholder groups on the status of the Caribbean Disaster Management Phase II Project involving Upper Mahaica communities, at CDC headquarters at Thomas Lands on Tuesday.

The experts of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency

After evaluating the extent to which the identified communities are affected by flooding, the objectives of the pilot project is to map the communities’ possible flood zones, establish an early warning system (EWS) and evacuation response mechanisms as well as the setting up of emergency shelters to ensure that the exposure of the residents in the communities to a potential flood hazards is minimised. The entire project is geared to reducing the exposure of the citizens in the catchment area to flood devastation of their economic and personal well-being.
With the help of the community, the JICA team has been able to identify and demarcate, using digital GPS technology, the areas surrounding the community which are prone to flooding. Draft maps have been compiled but these are to be modified and finalised by the team. The briefing was also meant to allow stakeholders such as the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), the University of Guyana (UG), the Lands and Surveys Commission, the Hydromet Department and the Guyana Forestry Commission to join with the JICA experts to review, modify and finalise the maps using  a Geographic Information System(GIS).
Apart from a flood survey, a community plan and emergency response committee have been established with an EWS. It was reported that the EWS is already functioning in some regards as it has been set up in such a manner that key personnel at critical stakeholder agencies such as the Hydromet Department, the East Demerara Water Conservancy, the NDIA and the CDC have been receiving alarms, which go to their phones and to which they can respond as required.
Given it is a pilot project, requiring real-world testing, the current rainy season is thought to be critical for data gathering and the subsequent correlation of the data with the practical information, response and other mitigation steps to be taken in the event of a hazardous occurrence. According to a JICA expert, it is envisaged that after comprehensive data gathering and analysis from now to the end of 2013, the CDC and its partner agencies will be in a better position to witness the rewards of the overall project. Speaking on the issue, CDC Director General Chabilall Ramsarup said once the systems for this project works successfully; similar applications/interventions could then be implemented in other flood prone communities.
The project is critical to ensuring a high degree of preparedness and response capability for the target communities. The communities are located east, outside of the East Demerara Water Conservancy, which is fed in its uppermost reaches by the Mahaica and Maduni rivers, way beyond even where the St Cuthbert’s Mission is located. In times of very heavy rainfall, the water runs downward to the coastland and has the ability to cause severe flood damage to the communities it passes, particularly those on its lower end. As such, the EWS is meant to provide advance information to aid Guyanese stakeholders of disaster risk reduction and management to plan effectively and deliver efficient services to the communities which need their intervention. Similar projects are being conducted in Belize, Dominica, Grenada and St Lucia.
Over the next few days, the CDC, its stakeholders and the JICA team will travel to the community to work on completing the map after which final drafts and the EWS will be presented to the CDC.
Additionally, there will be a practical testing of the EWS and an evacuation drill.  The Guyana Red Cross, the Forestry Commission and the Geology and Mines Commission are also involved in the project.