The disaster we just couldn’t see coming

AS streams of muddy water kept rising on the western side of the railway line running through Mariental, a long line of onlookers stood along the higher, eastern side of it, looking on in amazement as bushes and stop signs below them disappeared.

Just hours earlier, the Police had driven through the now flooded streets, urging residents to get their belongings out of their houses and arrange for places to stay. “This is a very serious warning.We request all residents of Mariental to leave now and move to higher ground,” came the sound of a loudspeaker while playful kids stood aside, joking about the situation.By ten o’clock on Saturday night, the seriousness of the situation had sunk in, as everyone scattered for the one or two shops still open, and armed Defence Force members patrolled the railway line to keep looters from trying to cross the two-metre-deep water.Children were still having a ball, however.To the exasperation of Police officers trying to save lives, children were still jumping into the rivers that had formed in the town’s street, while others came running towards the rescue helicopter whenever it returned from a successful mission.At one point, Karas Region Governor Katrina Hanse was visibly frustrated by the attitude of some towards the crisis facing the town’s 14 000 inhabitants.”This is not just a disaster at Mariental,” Hanse told the rescue team during a late-afternoon briefing, “This affects everyone in the region.Handle it with seriousness.”By Sunday afternoon, her wish had been granted as angry residents flocked to the municipality building, some complaining about what had happened, others concerned about what would happen now.One of these people was Bonnie Chaune, caretaker and resident at the soccer stadium.”NamWater told us the whole time that they had the situation under control,” he told The Namibian.”But in the end, after the water was already on its way, we were told to evacuate.”Chaune, who lived with his girlfriend, their baby, two cousins, and two boys he’s guardian of, lost everything he owns apart from the clothes on his back and his baby’s clothing, he says.Both his and his brother’s bakkies became stuck in mud while trying to get them to safety, and he says that the vehicles are not visible above the water anymore.”I loaded all our belongings on the two bakkies, but then they got stuck.I then got a lift to the municipality to ask for help and they said they’d try to help me.But they phoned me later and said it was too late.They can’t get into that area,” he says.Before leaving the cars to get help, Chaune had returned his valuables to his house, placing everything on chairs and cupboards.By yesterday afternoon, he said, he could only see the roof of his home.Another resident, 21-year-old Maria Shilenga, says she’s lost everything, from her baby boy’s birth certificate and other documentation, to her sister’s school books.”I don’t know what she’s going to do about school,” Shilenga says.”I don’t know what to do now.I’m just hoping the water will lower so I can see what I can get out from our room.”Shilenga says that at around 10h00 on Saturday, she saw the water approaching the Mariental Hotel, where she lives, and decided to move.She stacked her furniture on top of each other to stop the water from reaching it, she said, but after arranging for accommodation elsewhere and returning to her place in chest-high water, she realised the futility of this exercise.”I went into my room and all I saw was pots and everything else floating on top of the water,” she says.The Sandberg Hotel, where Shilenga had sought refuge, was also eventually flooded, and she, her sister and her four-month-old daughter had to ask the municipality for shelter.”At least my boss gave me N$50 for food, so I could get something to eat this morning,” she said.Generally, Mariental residents who lost their valuables during the flood shared one common complaint.They had not been informed promptly of the looming flood, they said, and with the water spilling over the dam wall at 3 000 cubic metres per second, there was no time to save anything but their own lives.”This is a very serious warning.We request all residents of Mariental to leave now and move to higher ground,” came the sound of a loudspeaker while playful kids stood aside, joking about the situation.By ten o’clock on Saturday night, the seriousness of the situation had sunk in, as everyone scattered for the one or two shops still open, and armed Defence Force members patrolled the railway line to keep looters from trying to cross the two-metre-deep water.Children were still having a ball, however.To the exasperation of Police officers trying to save lives, children were still jumping into the rivers that had formed in the town’s street, while others came running towards the rescue helicopter whenever it returned from a successful mission.At one point, Karas Region Governor Katrina Hanse was visibly frustrated by the attitude of some towards the crisis facing the town’s 14 000 inhabitants.”This is not just a disaster at Mariental,” Hanse told the rescue team during a late-afternoon briefing, “This affects everyone in the region.Handle it with seriousness.”By Sunday afternoon, her wish had been granted as angry residents flocked to the municipality building, some complaining about what had happened, others concerned about what would happen now.One of these people was Bonnie Chaune, caretaker and resident at the soccer stadium.”NamWater told us the whole time that they had the situation under control,” he told The Namibian.”But in the end, after the water was already on its way, we were told to evacuate.”Chaune, who lived with his girlfriend, their baby, two cousins, and two boys he’s guardian of, lost everything he owns apart from the clothes on his back and his baby’s clothing, he says.Both his and his brother’s bakkies became stuck in mud while trying to get them to safety, and he says that the vehicles are not visible above the water anymore.”I loaded all our belongings on the two bakkies, but then they got stuck.I then got a lift to the municipality to ask for help and they said they’d try to help me.But they phoned me later and said it was too late.They can’t get into that area,” he says.Before leaving the cars to get help, Chaune had returned his valuables to his house, placing everything on chairs and cupboards.By yesterday afternoon, he said, he could only see the roof of his home.Another resident, 21-year-old Maria Shilenga, says she’s lost everything, from her baby boy’s birth certificate and other documentation, to her sister’s school books.”I don’t know what she’s going to do about school,” Shilenga says.”I don’t know what to do now.I’m just hoping the water will lower so I can see what I can get out from our room.”Shilenga says that at around 10h00 on Saturday, she saw the water approaching the Mariental Hotel, where she lives, and decided to move.She stacked her furniture on top of each other to stop the water from reaching it, she said, but after arranging for accommodation elsewhere and returning to her place in chest-high water, she realised the futility of this exercise.”I went into my room and all I saw was pots and everything else floating on top of the water,” she says.The Sandberg Hotel, where Shilenga had sought refuge, was also eventually flooded, and she, her sister and her four-month-old daughter had to ask the municipality for shelter.”At least my boss gave me N$50 for food, so I could get something to eat this morning,” she said.Generally, Mariental residents who lost their valuables during the flood shared one common complaint.They had not been informed promptly of the looming flood, they said, and with the water spilling over the dam wall at 3 000 cubic metres per second, there was no time to save anything but their own lives.