Flooding continues as development hinders drainage

(CNS): More heavy rain is expected across the Cayman Islands this week, and officials have issued another flood advisory for Wednesday and Thursday. Over-development and very poor drainage management have made flood-prone areas on Grand Cayman even more susceptible. In addition, heavy downpours are increasingly impacting areas that previously rarely flooded and quickly recovered if they did because undeveloped areas soaked up the water.

Cayman is no stranger to heavy rains at this time of year, but as climate change fuels king tides and development undermines nature’s ability to soak up water, flooding is becoming more of an issue.

However, successive governments have persistently ignored warnings about the desperate need for a comprehensive stormwater management plan. Instead, they have maintained the process of piecemeal approval of drainage on development sites by the CPA, which is wholly inadequate. Despite their empty claims about sustainable development, no plan to tackle the issue has been put forward.

National Roads Authority Director Edward Howard recently said there were concerns about managing the floodwater because of the amount of development. “As we continue to develop, we are losing a lot of the natural storage areas and, in many cases, we are replacing these water-catchment areas with impermeable surfaces,” he admitted.

Calling the flooding “a significant challenge”, Howard said the ministry was “working to get the stormwater management committee reconstituted and to update the stormwater laws and regulations”. However, he said there was “a lot of work to be done and, of course, these things take time and funding”.

The heavy rain expected this week is due to a developing system in the Caribbean Sea which the US National Hurricane Center has given a 40% chance of becoming a tropical depression within the next week as it moves through this area. Environmental conditions could support some gradual development of the disorganised showers and thunderstorms this week or at the weekend while it moves generally northwestward.

Regardless of development, the system is expected to bring significant rainfall and thunderstorms to Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands, exacerbating the ongoing flood problem caused by the passage of Helene last week. ​

Up to four inches of rain is expected for Grand Cayman and up to two for the Sister Islands. Residents can expect moderate winds at approximately 15-20 knots with higher gusts, and periods of locally heavy showers with lightning and thunder.

Today’s rain is expected to decrease from late afternoon with a 40% chance of showers overnight. However, flooding is possible today over low-lying areas. Cloudiness and showers are expected to increase along with fresh southeasterly winds and moderate seas from tomorrow morning, as the disorganised system edges closer to these islands.

Sand will be available from noon, and staff will be available to help fill bags from 2:30-4:30pm at the following sand stations: Frank Sound Fire Station, West Bay Fire Station, Linford Pierson Roundabout, and the Agricultural Grounds.

Listen to the weather update from CINWS Senior Forecaster Gilbert Miller: