Georgetown, Guyana – (August 21, 2017) Minister of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon, who has responsibility for the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and the coordination of disaster relief efforts, said that the Government and people of Guyana stand ready to lend support to the community of Jawalla, Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region Seven) as it mourns the loss of one of its residents and the destruction of several homes and buildings as a result of a freak storm on Friday evening.

Twenty-nine-year-old Ms. Marsha Jordan, a mother of two, who was pregnant with her third child sadly lost her life and Minister Harmon expressed condolences on her passing. Damage to property included the total destruction of four homes and the partial destruction of another five homes, the roof of the Community Centre and two buildings of the Village Council Office. The water tanks and water trestle of the nursery school were also damaged, while the washroom facilities of the primary and nursery schools have been destroyed.

Minister Harmon, in an invited comment, said that he has been briefed by acting Director General of the CDC, Major Kester Craig on the situation in the Region and said that the Government is committed to its responsibility to provide support and disaster relief to affected residents. As such, he said that the CDC, which is responsible for the coordination of disaster relief efforts, will be working with the regional administration to assist the affected community and to ensure that normalcy is restored as quickly as possible.

Major Craig said that the CDC is working closely with the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs and Minister Valerie Garrido-Lowe will be visiting the village on this morning with an engineer from the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, representatives from the Ministry of Public Health and other related agencies and Ministries. Residents will be provided with food supplies, temporary shelters, blankets, water purification tablets and other necessities.

Meanwhile, the Regional Democratic Council has partially activated its Regional Disaster Risk Management Committee and is monitoring and responding to the situation.

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