‘Then the water came through the keyhole…’

“WE blocked off everything but then the water started pouring in through the keyhole,” said Hannelise Kendzia.

Her house in Roland Street in Windhoek West sustained severe damage as the Gammams River burst through onto roads and into people’s yards on Friday night. “I have lived here since standard eight, and I have never seen anything like this before.There were floods in 1934, but I don’t think they were as bad as this,” she said.Kendzia explained how she and her husband had spent most of Thursday taking preventative measures to keep water out of their house and business, Kendzia Modern Picture Framing.”After Wednesday’s flood, there was a lot of work to do.But on Friday night the water was rising so quickly that it broke the wall to our yard”.Despite all their efforts to keep doors and windows watertight, “the water came in wherever it could”, said Kendzia.”It poured in through the walls around closed windows.Water came into our showroom and our yard is left with a 40 cm high layer of mud”.”I have lived here since standard eight, and I have never seen anything like this before. There were floods in 1934, but I don’t think they were as bad as this,” she said. Kendzia explained how she and her husband had spent most of Thursday taking preventative measures to keep water out of their house and business, Kendzia Modern Picture Framing. “After Wednesday’s flood, there was a lot of work to do. But on Friday night the water was rising so quickly that it broke the wall to our yard”. Despite all their efforts to keep doors and windows watertight, “the water came in wherever it could”, said Kendzia. “It poured in through the walls around closed windows. Water came into our showroom and our yard is left with a 40 cm high layer of mud”.