PARAMARIBO – If the airstrips that are located in the hinterland are flooded, it will have serious consequences for the delivery of emergency aid and medical evacuations.

The National Coordination Center for Disaster Control (NCCR) explained that air transport is essential in many cases in order to reach remote villages especially when there are no roads and when the rivers are too dangerous for boats.
The coordinator at the NCCR, Jerry Slijngard, explained that the persistent rainfall will result in the flooding of fields and airstrips. This will also make it impossible to reach these remote areas by plane. When the planes cannot land, the village cannot receive food, portable water, medical aid and other essential products. Some villages can only be reached by plane which is why there could be a huge delay in operations when the airstrips are flooded. Medical evacuations are strongly dependent on available and usable airstrips.
When health centers are flooded or when people with a serious injury or disease, the only way to get patients out is via air transport. When a plane cannot land, patients must sometimes be transported to another location by boat but this requires more time and logistical coordination. The NCCR made it clear that it is following the situation in the hinterland closely.