A View From Above

Our blogs and newsletters have frequently mentioned the flooding problems and road conditions. Everyone looks for a solution but sometimes we are not sure what the problem is. A remedy for our lack of knowledge was a flight over the Yapacani River to view the present flooding problems and the meanderings of the river.

Since the river broke a new channel last November the communities in our area have not suffered from river flooding. That does not say it is not flooding. Ten inches (25 cm.) of rain a night can cause its own flooding problems! However, across the river, in the county of San Juan, serious flooding has occurred. That county would like to close the new channel and redirect the water back through the old channel which would cause flooding in our area once again. Since that is not a viable option, a new solution needs to be found. We have to admit that we are not convinced there is a ‘solution’ since the river moves where it moves.

Two representatives from Yapacani county and one from the San Juan county joined us. Two had never flown before and we made sure everyone had eaten and had taken Gravol before the flight. The day was very breezy, making the flight in a 6-seater plane more than interesting!

We flew to Yapacani and then up the river. When we arrived at our group of communities we saw that the river became a real ‘snake’ with lots of curves. It would be interesting to know how many miles of river there are in that small piece of land. The picture we saw was much different from the Google map.

All the pictures we took will be put together to provide a profile for the communities, illustrating where the river broke through and the flooding in the communities on the other side. We could determine where and how the river had moved by surveying the growth of trees.

Now the community representatives are left with the challenge of determining what action should be taken, drawing up a proposal, and finding funding for the project.