Three households were left homeless yesterday, after heavy rains caused Guaracara River to burst its banks, sending flood waters surging through their houses. Affected are Anderson Stamers, his father Phillip Stamers and uncle Walter Stamers, all of Sixth Street Extension, Battoo Avenue, Marabella. Speaking in an interview, Anderson 27, a father of two, said he was at church with his three-year-old daughter around noon, when his neighbour called him and told him about the rising waters.
His wife and three-month-old son were at home at the time, and were forced to seek refuge at the home of a relative who lived in an upstairs apartment. Anderson, who sells aquarium fish and celery in the market, continued that by the time he reached home at 12.30 pm, the water had risen to more than three feet inside his downstairs apartment. "We have nowhere to stay. All my fishes have died and my goods for the market gone through. Every year this happens, and as fast as we get back on our feet, it happens again," he said softly, shaking his head as a bag which contained groceries floated out of the apartment into the surging river.
In addition to the foodstuff which he purchased on Friday, Anderson said once again floods destroyed his stove, wardrobe, refrigerator, furniture and every appliance in his home. He estimated that the damage caused to all three apartments amounted to around $75,000. His father Phillip, 57, who is blind in one eye, also had a worried look on his face as he, too, counted his losses. All he could rescue from the flood was a barrel which contained some of his clothes. "It have little children here and everybody here could get real sick," he said, scratching his skin vigorously.
"I lost everything and I mean everything. I saw my suitcase with my clothes floating down the river and I could not even save it." The elder Stamers said that in addition to the financial losses, the flood waters brought with it the added danger of snakes, scorpions, and caimans, which can be found in abundance in Guaracara River. "We all have to be very, very careful, because we don't know what is under the water. We have been lucky so far that no one has been injured, but our luck could run out at any time."
Walter, 60, picking up where his brother Phillip left off, said the household had tried on numerous occasions to get assistance from the Member of Parliament for the area, Christine Kangaloo, but so far all their cries had fallen on deaf ears. "Every year, as long as the rains come, it is guaranteed that we will lose all our stuff. We are desperately in need of some help, but it seems like no one is taking us seriously."
