Mahaica sea defence embankment

collapsing again

The residents of Unity, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara, are once again bracing themselves for a major disaster as visible signs of collapse begin to emerge on a 700-meter earthen embankment which was recently rehabilitated.
It’s been just one month since millions of dollars have been spent on the embankment which runs adjacent to the concrete sea defence at Unity and already the structure is caving in, sending tremors down the spines

Flashback: Repair works being done to seal the embankment one month ago.

of residents who fear excessive flooding.

And with the spring tide scheduled to last for two more days, the residents are not too optimistic that the structure will stand up to the raging tide.
The temporary earthen embankment was erected in late November and by December month end it had collapsed under the constant pounding of waves.
Again, millions of dollars were spent to repair it and it has already begun to show signs of collapse a few days later. Residents then had been expressing concern that it was only a matter of time before the structure is breached again.
“So said, so done!” a resident declared.
According to the residents, apart from some spot repairs, there has not been any significant work carried out to the actual seawall since it was erected decades ago.
In fact, several sections of the seawall in the area are showing signs of total neglect.
Residents have described the move by the administration as being “penny wise and pound foolish.”
“This is just wasting a lot of money…this temporary thing wha’ dey doing here ain’t mek no sense. Because you do it and not even a big tide come, and it break away, so by spring tide, nothing ain’t gon deh hey,” another resident observed.
The residents share the view that money can be siphoned off if basic works have to be

The earthen embankment is on the verge of collapsing again.

re-done on a regular basis.

“Imagine they do this embankment two times in two months and they still have to do it over again” one resident remarked.
He lamented the removal of machinery from the location given the sensitive and treacherous nature of the structure.
“Since this was temporary wuk, why dey remove de excavator? At least it would’a deh right hey fuh do emergency wuk,” he said.