BLOCKED storm-water drains have been named as the main cause of the flooding which occurred in parts of Windhoek after a cloudburst dumped more than 50 mm of rain on the city late on Sunday afternoon.
Not only were shops in the Wernhil shopping centre under water, but also two houses in The Terrace townhouse complex in Klein Windhoek, a house in Eadie Street and the Russian ambassador’s residence, also in Klein Windhoek. “I was on the phone when I heard an enormous bang and seconds later I saw the water flowing in under my door.I dropped the phone and fetched a broom but within seconds I was swept off my feet by the force of the water,” said Elaine Louw, the owner of the house in Eadie Street.”That is when I ran and opened all the doors so that the water could flow through the house.I then went onto the veranda an sat on the garden table and waited,” she told The Namibian.She said she had tried to save some of her belonging but quickly realised that her attempts were futile.”I saw a shoe drifting past and grabbed it, but soon gave up, as there was just too much which was being swept away.”Two houses in The Terrace housing complex in Klein Windhoek were also flooded.The water ran through one of the houses at a height of more than a metre.The force of the water damaged the garage doors and eventually broke a boundary wall at the back, through which it escaped.But before that, the homeowner and her dog had to be rescued by neighbours who dropped a ladder over the wall, as the force of the water prevented them from opening the gates.Building rubble that was dumped higher up, in a rivulet near the railway line, apparently caused the water to dam up .When the rubble finally gave way, it was too much for the storm-water drains to handle.Some shops in the Wernhil shopping centre only reopened for business very late yesterday.Others stayed closed.Peter Schaffler, contracts manager for the centre, said that the sudden downpour was too much for the storm-water drainage system, and the problem was compounded by garbage and rubble swept along by the rainwater, which clogged the drains.He said the City Council should re-examine its storm-water system, which was not adequate, and should also clean the drains regularly.Residents in Klein Windhoek’s Eadie and Stein streets said everybody knew about the building rubble that was being dumped, yet nothing was done and the culprits were not punished.According to the Windhoek weather bureau, the Pionierspark suburb received the highest rainfall of 63 mm on Sunday, followed by Academia with 60 mm, the city centre with 50 mm and Eros Airport with 46 mm.Rainfall reports were also received from Gobabis (16 mm) and Ondangwa (12 mm), weatherman Simon Dirkse said yesterday.He said the rain would start clearing up in the southern and western parts of the country from today.”From tomorrow, rainfall will mainly be confined to the northern and eastern parts of Namibia,” Dirkse said.* Additional reporting by Absalom Shigwedha”I was on the phone when I heard an enormous bang and seconds later I saw the water flowing in under my door.I dropped the phone and fetched a broom but within seconds I was swept off my feet by the force of the water,” said Elaine Louw, the owner of the house in Eadie Street.”That is when I ran and opened all the doors so that the water could flow through the house.I then went onto the veranda an sat on the garden table and waited,” she told The Namibian.She said she had tried to save some of her belonging but quickly realised that her attempts were futile.”I saw a shoe drifting past and grabbed it, but soon gave up, as there was just too much which was being swept away.”Two houses in The Terrace housing complex in Klein Windhoek were also flooded.The water ran through one of the houses at a height of more than a metre.The force of the water damaged the garage doors and eventually broke a boundary wall at the back, through which it escaped.But before that, the homeowner and her dog had to be rescued by neighbours who dropped a ladder over the wall, as the force of the water prevented them from opening the gates.Building rubble that was dumped higher up, in a rivulet near the railway line, apparently caused the water to dam up .When the rubble finally gave way, it was too much for the storm-water drains to handle.Some shops in the Wernhil shopping centre only reopened for business very late yesterday.Others stayed closed.Peter Schaffler, contracts manager for the centre, said that the sudden downpour was too much for the storm-water drainage system, and the problem was compounded by garbage and rubble swept along by the rainwater, which clogged the drains.He said the City Council should re-examine its storm-water system, which was not adequate, and should also clean the drains regularly.Residents in Klein Windhoek’s Eadie and Stein streets said everybody knew about the building rubble that was being dumped, yet nothing was done and the culprits were not punished.According to the Windhoek weather bureau, the Pionierspark suburb received the highest rainfall of 63 mm on Sunday, followed by Academia with 60 mm, the city centre with 50 mm and Eros Airport with 46 mm.Rainfall reports were also received from Gobabis (16 mm) and Ondangwa (12 mm), weatherman Simon Dirkse said yesterday.He said the rain would start clearing up in the southern and western parts of the country from today.”From tomorrow, rainfall will mainly be confined to the northern and eastern parts of Namibia,” Dirkse said.* Additional reporting by Absalom Shigwedha
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