Georgetown – Climate change has made Guyana’s flat coastal plain more vulnerable to intense rainfall and king tides. In response, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha unveiled a real-time flood-monitoring and early-warning system that integrates data from rain gauges, tide stations, drainage pumps, and satellite imagery into a single dashboard.
How It Works
The platform aggregates:
- 110 automatic rain gauges – Reporting every 10 minutes.
- 25 tide sensors – Stretching from Charity to Skeldon.
- Drainage pump telemetry – RPM, fuel status, run time.
- Crowdsourced reports – Residents submit photos via WhatsApp; AI tags location.
- Radar-based rainfall forecasts – From UK Met Office partnership.
If thresholds are breached—e.g., 80 mm rain in six hours, tide ≥ 3.1 m, pump outage—the system auto-alerts regional officials and SMSes at-risk residents.
Pilot Results
During April’s heavy showers, Mahaica’s pump failure was flagged in three minutes; technicians arrived within 25. Farmer Devindra Naresh credits the alert with saving 100 acres of rice: “Water level rose fast, but we closed the field cross-cut drains in time.”
National Roll-out
The Ministry plans to extend coverage to 180 inland communities by 2027, focusing on riverine flash-flood zones. World Bank climate-adaptation funds cover servers, training, and a public mobile app (beta in October).
Data for Decision-Makers
Beyond emergency alerts, the platform feeds historical trends to engineers designing canals. “We’ll calibrate sluice sizes using real numbers, not outdated averages,” says NDIA CEO Dave Hicks.
Citizen Engagement
A public dashboard lets anyone see rainfall heat maps and pump status, fostering transparency. Opposition MP Ganesh Mahipaul praised the openness, urging real-time maintenance logs to curb “ghost-pump” allegations.
Looking Ahead
As rainfall extremes become the new normal, smart systems will increasingly govern how—and whether—Guyana keeps its coast dry. Minister Mustapha sums up: “We cannot stop the rain, but we can outsmart the flood.”
