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‘Flooding a recurring problem at SVES’
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Posted on Oct 19 2006
The flooding incident that almost resulted in the suspension of classes at the San Vicente Elementary School on Wednesday has been a perennial problem at the school, according to principal Jim Rayphand.
He said that floodwaters usually inundate the school when heavy rains hit the island.
Rayphand recalled that the same incident occurred almost two years ago. In that incident, floodwaters entered at least five classrooms. In his six years at the school, Rayphand said he has experienced flooding incidents thrice.
Last Wednesday, a 30-minute downpour in the afternoon inundated two classrooms and three administration offices at the school.
Rayphand said the teachers and officials helped sweep the floors of water and debris. Since the weather has been bad in the past several days, Rayphand said the school is preparing for another such incident.
He said that they have placed school materials, equipment, and papers on higher places to prevent them from getting wet.
“If they [government] don’t fix [the flooding], it’s going to cause a big problem,” he said, adding that it could pose a hazard to schoolchildren. “We were lucky it [rain] didn’t last that long.” Rayphand said the courtyard in the school had water that was knee-high.
