| By
BERT WILKINSON, Associated Press Writer
GEORGETOWN, Guyana - The U.S. government is rushing relief supplies
to Guyana, the U.S. ambassador said Saturday, after heavy rains
and flooding that have killed at least six people and displaced
thousands of others.
 |
Drainage
pumps, food and other supplies were expected to arrive as
early as next week, U.S. Ambassador Roland Bullen told The
Associated Press in a telephone interview. |
AP Photo
The Defense Force, meanwhile, was standing by to evacuate as many
as 20,000 people from towns east of the capital, Georgetown, said
Brig. Gen. Edward Collins, the army chief. More than 40 inches of rain have fallen in the former British
colony since Dec. 26, with more than 27 inches this month. About
8 inches is normal for January.
President Bharrat Jagdeo has said the floods have affected more
than half the population of 750,000. Most Guyanese live on the
low-lying coast. He has appealed to the U.S. Southern Command
to have U.S. troops bring in power generators and small boats.
Waters were rising in several towns, suggesting two dams east
of Georgetown were spilling over, officials said. Another dam
northwest of the capital also was in danger of bursting.
Collins said residents could be moved to a military camp about
30 miles south of Georgetown. The evacuation could come as early
as next week.
"We are just
waiting on the order, but we are ready," he said.
In some western districts
of the capital, engineers worked with residents to seal more than
a dozen breaches in a dam where torrents of black water had poured
onto farmlands.
Many farmers said
they expect to lose cassava and fruit trees.
"I am living
in one room and my 59 chickens (are) in another," said farmer
Pamela Persaud, 51.
The heaviest rains
in a century already have forced thousands of people from homes
in Georgetown and coastal villages. Most are staying with friends
or relatives, though at least 5,000 are sheltering in schools,
churches and public buildings.
While prices on basic
goods and transportation more than quadrupled, the government
and aid agencies hurried to distribute 5,000 blankets and thousands
of hygiene kits. Volunteers were also delivering water and preparing
meals, mostly for children and the elderly.
Authorities were still
asking for boats to ferry food deep into isolated villages and
to evacuate the sick and elderly from snake-infested waters.
At least six people
have been killed, including three people whose bodies were found
floating outside their homes Saturday and a six-year-old boy who
drowned Thursday.
Brazil, which neighbors
Guyana to the south, has flown in 16 tons of food and other supplies
and has promised more next week. |
