Angry Arrebbusch floods homes

AN UNEXPECTED guest banged on the door as they sat down for dinner.

Christine Damases, the owner of the first house in Acacia in Windhoek’s Dorado Park, asked her cousin Gregor Damaseb to see who was there. When he opened the door, the water poured into the open-plan kitchen.Damaseb closed the door quickly.By the time they realised what was happening the four adults were ankle-deep in the water.It was 20h30.Less than 10 minutes later the water was waist high, the two children in the house were put on the kitchen’s work top, sofas in the living room started to float.”While we were in the house, the garage door shot through into the house.We had to force the [living room’s] door open.I thought it was the only way we would survive,” says Damases.The electricity went dead.Barefooted, Damases, her two-and-a-half year-old son Numbembe Nangolo, two cousins Andrew and Gregor Damaseb, her friend Imelda Hummel and daughter Millicent Hummel went against the tide and out onto the street.A bridge, the only way out of Acacia, was cut off by the raging waters.So, Damases and her friend and relatives tip-toed upstream.At the same time they were on their cellular phones calling for help.Numbembe remembered Fluffy, his puppy, but the water had already engulfed the entire housing complex and was flowing north-west.”We did not take anything.The water was moving so fast we only thought about getting out of there,” said Damases.”If we had taken longer than we took, we would not have have gotten out of the house alive”.Immanuel ‘Shorty’ Shovaleka, who came to help them, was kept away by the roaring Arrebbusch river and an electrified fence until one man broke through the barrier with his bakkie.Four hours later the rain had calmed to drizzle and the water level dropped.The water in Damases’s house was at least 1,5 metres high.She and her friends took some of her belongings.One of her sofas, wall units, a washing machine, television sets, her personal documents and other goods somehow found a way out of the house due to the force of the water.The following morning they took most of the remaining property.By Sunday afternoon looters had taken the water-logged telephone and ripped curtains from their rails.Two-and-a-half-year-old Millicent Hummel told her grandmother: “Ouma ek was by die groot see maar ek het nie vis gevang nie.[I was at the ocean but did not catch any fish]”.Christine Damases says she has no intention of going back to the house that Millicent described as a big ocean.Last year, before she moved into the house in December, she says the estate agent assured her that the place would not be flooded in 50 years.”There is no way I could go back to that house.It’s a risk.It wasn’t a joke being in the middle of such strong water”.Yesterday, residents of Acacia, the suburb worst hit by the floods, established a committee to deal with the crisis.They said everybody was accounted for and fears that lives had been lost had not materialised.The builders of the complex have also promised to set up an emergency way of getting out of the housing development.When he opened the door, the water poured into the open-plan kitchen. Damaseb closed the door quickly. By the time they realised what was happening the four adults were ankle-deep in the water. It was 20h30. Less than 10 minutes later the water was waist high, the two children in the house were put on the kitchen’s work top, sofas in the living room started to float. “While we were in the house, the garage door shot through into the house. We had to force the [living room’s] door open. I thought it was the only way we would survive,” says Damases. The electricity went dead. Barefooted, Damases, her two-and-a-half year-old son Numbembe Nangolo, two cousins Andrew and Gregor Damaseb, her friend Imelda Hummel and daughter Millicent Hummel went against the tide and out onto the street. A bridge, the only way out of Acacia, was cut off by the raging waters. So, Damases and her friend and relatives tip-toed upstream. At the same time they were on their cellular phones calling for help. Numbembe remembered Fluffy, his puppy, but the water had already engulfed the entire housing complex and was flowing north-west. “We did not take anything. The water was moving so fast we only thought about getting out of there,” said Damases. “If we had taken longer than we took, we would not have have gotten out of the house alive”. Immanuel ‘Shorty’ Shovaleka, who came to help them, was kept away by the roaring Arrebbusch river and an electrified fence until one man broke through the barrier with his bakkie. Four hours later the rain had calmed to drizzle and the water level dropped. The water in Damases’s house was at least 1,5 metres high. She and her friends took some of her belongings. One of her sofas, wall units, a washing machine, television sets, her personal documents and other goods somehow found a way out of the house due to the force of the water. The following morning they took most of the remaining property. By Sunday afternoon looters had taken the water-logged telephone and ripped curtains from their rails. Two-and-a-half-year-old Millicent Hummel told her grandmother: “Ouma ek was by die groot see maar ek het nie vis gevang nie. [I was at the ocean but did not catch any fish]”. Christine Damases says she has no intention of going back to the house that Millicent described as a big ocean. Last year, before she moved into the house in December, she says the estate agent assured her that the place would not be flooded in 50 years. “There is no way I could go back to that house. It’s a risk. It wasn’t a joke being in the middle of such strong water”. Yesterday, residents of Acacia, the suburb worst hit by the floods, established a committee to deal with the crisis. They said everybody was accounted for and fears that lives had been lost had not materialised. The builders of the complex have also promised to set up an emergency way of getting out of the housing development.