OVER 2,000 residents of Fellowship, Portland, are expected to benefit from the installation of a comprehensive early flood warning system to assist the community in managing potential flood-related disasters. The equipment was received at a handover ceremony last Thursday at the Fellowship Baptist Church.

The community is vulnerable to flooding caused by factors including high stream and river flow during heavy rainfall, and blockage of river courses and other waterways by landslide debris. Grant assistance valued at US$45,000 was provided by the United States Agency for International Development(USAID)-funded Ja REEACH II project. The equipment has been installed at strategic sections throughout the mid-Rio Grande Valley through partnership with the Water Resources Authority (WRA).

The handover ceremony also included an information session led by the WRA and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management.

The community participated in a series of risk assessment and planning workshops conducted by Ja REEACH which identified the need for a comprehensive early flood warning system to respond efficiently to future incidences of flooding.

“I am glad that the system is now in place to give us enough time as a community to take action whenever it rains so that it can lessen the impact of the flooding in the community,” said community member and previous flood victim Icema Swire.

“This morning (Thursday) the river was high as where I live two rivers meet, so I started to take precautionary action before I came to the meeting,” she explained.

Previously, flood waters rose as high as 23 feet surrounding Swire’s home.

Meanwhile, deputy managing director of the WRA Peter Clarke highlighted the significance of the early warning system for the community.

“Fellowship has a history of flooding and history of loss. We have an obligation to try and keep all our citizens as safe as we can. There are communities that are extremely vulnerable and Fellowship is one of those extreme vulnerable communities, and as such it is natural that it is one of the first that would have been chosen for this project.”

The WRA is currently collecting real-time rainfall and river flow data for developing a flood prediction model for the Rio Grande Valley.

Rebecca Robinson, acting country representative, USAID, pointed out that this area in the Rio Grande Valley has high risk for flooding and damages, “and we are committed to assist in providing warning systems to avoid the possible damages that can occur hence the equipment placed at strategic sites”.