HGP Nightly News – President Irfaan Ali was out in the rain after midnight Tuesday, leading a walkthrough of several flood-affected areas in Georgetown as heavy rainfall continued to test the city’s drainage system.
The President was accompanied by officials from the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority, cabinet ministers, and other government officials, who were taken into the flooded communities to assess the situation on the ground.
Standing in one of the affected areas, President Ali said the tide was at its highest and that all mechanical pumps in the city were already in operation. According to him, 15 pumps were working in Georgetown, while 217 pumps were active countrywide.
He explained that the city’s drainage capacity would improve around 6:40 a.m., when the tide was expected to reach its lowest point and sluices could be fully opened to allow additional drainage.
However, the President warned that the country was still facing constant rainfall, with greater intensity expected later in the morning. He said the government’s focus was not on eliminating flooding completely under those conditions, but on reducing its impact as much as possible.
“This is an approach to minimize the impact,” the President said, noting that the volume and consistency of the rainfall had placed pressure on the drainage system.
Ali said the monitoring system was live and that officials were tracking rainfall levels against the drainage capacity of the system. He added that the performance of each pump was also being continuously evaluated.
During the walkthrough, the President pointed to one location where he said water had already begun to recede after the pumps were activated. He said the movement of the water showed that the pumps were working, although the pace of drainage remained limited by the intensity of the rainfall and the storage capacity in the affected areas.
Alexander Village was among the hardest-hit communities visited during the exercise. The President said the area was experiencing serious drainage challenges, including issues linked to drain maintenance and the limited capacity at the Riverview sluice.
To ease the situation, Ali announced that a second pump would be temporarily installed in the area before morning. He said the team was working to have the pump in place by around 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. to increase the speed at which water could be removed.
He further disclosed that additional pumps expected to arrive in the country on Friday would allow the government to place a second pump in the area permanently.
According to the President, the water in Alexander Village was moving much slower than in other areas because only one pump was operating there at the time. He said the sluice would not be able to function at full capacity until the tide reached its lowest point in the morning.
Ali also acknowledged that sections of Georgetown continue to face major drainage problems, but said government interventions had helped to prevent the situation from becoming worse.
“We are not the government that hides from challenges,” he said, while noting that the flooding remained a challenge under the watch of the city council.
The President said he would return to Alexander Village later in the morning to assess whether the additional pump had been installed and whether the situation had improved.
The late-night inspection came as persistent rainfall left several city streets under water, forcing authorities to rely heavily on pumps, sluices, and emergency drainage works to bring relief to affected residents.
