‘People have no roofs over their heads’

… report awaited to assess extent of damage as hundreds left homeless

Ohangwena Regional Council chairperson Erickson Ndawanifwa says he is waiting for a report from councillors on the ground following strong winds and hail on Saturday evening and early Sunday morning that left hundreds of Endola villagers homeless.

Many residents have been forced to squat at neighbours’ homes.

Ndawanifwa says he has instructed councillors in the affected constituencies to assess the extent of damage and compile a report for a possible solution to render assistance where needed.

“We actually received a report of another storm that caused damages to a village in the Omulonga constituency. I will be going there myself because that is my constituency. As a region, we have a disaster risk management unit that assists those left destitute with sheltering them in tents. We have the capacity to provide accommodation, but food can only be given to those who had their food spoiled,” says Ndawanifwa.

Onepandaulo East village resident Susanna Fillemon says they were lucky they were not home when the wind and rain began.

“We were at the cuca shops where we usually spend the afternoon selling kapana and socialising, otherwise we would have been hurt.

My house’s roof was completely blown away. As it is now, my children and I are staying at two of the neighbours’ houses because they cannot accommodate all of us. I have no money to repair the roof at this stage, so I don’t know how long I will live like this.”

The strong winds uprooted trees and blew zinc sheets off roofs, causing destruction and leaving food items and furniture destroyed.

Endola constituency councillor Ferdinand Shifidi has confirmed the incident, which he describes as very serious.
He says he is grateful no one was hurt in the process.

“We heard that the community of Onepandaulo was highly affected. We are visiting those affected and are assessing the situation so that we can compile a full report on the severity of the damages.”

Shifidi has encouraged affected households to keep calm as his office is engaging the Ohangwena governor to see how best assistance can be rendered.

Also speaking to The Namibian, Onepandaulo headman Chris Unona says people need to be assisted.

“Some people no longer have roofs over their heads. Things are destroyed, many have taken shelter with their neighbours in the meantime.”