Flood misery in the North increases

FLOODS that have hit villages and towns in the North continue to cause hardship for many people.

The situation has been aggravated by more heavy rains this past weekend. About 2 000 people in Oshakati alone were affected, Oshakati Town Council spokesperson Loth Nehemia said earlier.Now, Mayor Katrina Shimbulu has told The Namibian that far more than 2 000 people are feeling the pinch after a second flood that arrived a week ago.She said the local authority has been able to relocate fewer than 1 000 people and the rest have had to take refuge with friends and relatives.”There is no more place at the [Ongwediva] Trade Fair Centre, and the Oshakati Independence Stadium is about full too,” said Shimbulu.She said they had identified a site for a new flood shelter near Meatco in Oshakati North, but the site still had to be serviced before flood victims could be sent there.Even then they would face a shortage of tents, she said.The Town Council cannot afford to buy tents and the Namibian Defence Force and the Namibian Red Cross Society have no more tents to lend.”My Council will definitely go and ask the Government to assist us in this connection, because we might really be in a crisis if the rain continues and the efundja continues coming from Angola,” the Mayor said.Oshakati businesses are also suffering.Shimbulu said many shops and cuca shops in the informal settlements have closed, and their owners are not making an income to support their families or even pay their municipal bills.”They cannot pay for the schools of their children, furniture bills, church collections, transport and even for funerals of relatives” Shimbulu said.Henock Kashale from the Oneshila-Evululuko informal settlement told The Namibian yesterday that their houses were now occupied by fishes.”We do not know till when, because the water is not going away.It seems it has come to stay.All the oshanas are now full of water and the water in the settlement are not draining away as in the past.So we are really in a big problem and it seems even our Government has forgotten about us; we are suffering and need help immediately,” he said.”Most of us in the informal settlements are unemployed and lived from what we were selling in our shops and cuca shops, but now that they are no more functioning we are suffering and I think the Government has to remember us,” Kashale said.People staying at the Ongwediva Trade Fair Centre are complaining that part of the showgrounds has been flooded too.They have to wade through water when going to the toilet.Those at the Independence Stadium say their tents collapse on them while they are sleeping.”We do not know, maybe they are not properly put up,” said Ndapandula Michale.They are also afraid of waterborne illnesses and malaria, and have appealed for help from the Ministry of Health.The Namibian has learnt that malaria cases are on the increase at the Oshakati State Hospital.About 2 000 people in Oshakati alone were affected, Oshakati Town Council spokesperson Loth Nehemia said earlier.Now, Mayor Katrina Shimbulu has told The Namibian that far more than 2 000 people are feeling the pinch after a second flood that arrived a week ago.She said the local authority has been able to relocate fewer than 1 000 people and the rest have had to take refuge with friends and relatives.”There is no more place at the [Ongwediva] Trade Fair Centre, and the Oshakati Independence Stadium is about full too,” said Shimbulu.She said they had identified a site for a new flood shelter near Meatco in Oshakati North, but the site still had to be serviced before flood victims could be sent there. Even then they would face a shortage of tents, she said.The Town Council cannot afford to buy tents and the Namibian Defence Force and the Namibian Red Cross Society have no more tents to lend.”My Council will definitely go and ask the Government to assist us in this connection, because we might really be in a crisis if the rain continues and the efundja continues coming from Angola,” the Mayor said.Oshakati businesses are also suffering.Shimbulu said many shops and cuca shops in the informal settlements have closed, and their owners are not making an income to support their families or even pay their municipal bills.”They cannot pay for the schools of their children, furniture bills, church collections, transport and even for funerals of relatives” Shimbulu said.Henock Kashale from the Oneshila-Evululuko informal settlement told The Namibian yesterday that their houses were now occupied by fishes.”We do not know till when, because the water is not going away.It seems it has come to stay.All the oshanas are now full of water and the water in the settlement are not draining away as in the past.So we are really in a big problem and it seems even our Government has forgotten about us; we are suffering and need help immediately,” he said.”Most of us in the informal settlements are unemployed and lived from what we were selling in our shops and cuca shops, but now that they are no more functioning we are suffering and I think the Government has to remember us,” Kashale said.People staying at the Ongwediva Trade Fair Centre are complaining that part of the showgrounds has been flooded too.They have to wade through water when going to the toilet.Those at the Independence Stadium say their tents collapse on them while they are sleeping.”We do not know, maybe they are not properly put up,” said Ndapandula Michale.They are also afraid of waterborne illnesses and malaria, and have appealed for help from the Ministry of Health.The Namibian has learnt that malaria cases are on the increase at the Oshakati State Hospital.