Rain causes havoc
Houses and household items of roughly 60 families were destroyed and blown away by heavy rains and winds over the weekend in the Burgershoek settlement on the northern outskirts of Rehoboth.
Burgershoek is the one of the town's poorer areas and is home to many squatters and unemployed people.
The Rehoboth Urban West constituency leadership has appealed to Good Samaritans who can assist with donations of corrugated iron sheets or mattresses and blankets.
One of the affected people was an elderly man who had spent about N$25 000 to build his makeshift house which has been completely destroyed.
Other people barely scraped together enough material to build their dwellings which have been lost to the strong winds as well.
“It is such a tragedy, but the good thing is that no one was injured. The saddest part is that some people are not in town as they are working outside Rehoboth and have not yet returned to see their homes are gone,” said Jan van Wyk, a member of parliament and the constituency leadership.
He added that many of the residents cannot afford to buy new building material as they are either pensioners or unemployed people.
Meanwhile, a caravan belonging to another elderly man was blown around and eventually landed on its roof, while shacks were simply blown apart.
“Even people's belongings were blown away.
Some people have managed to iron out their corrugated iron sheets and have started repairing their homes, while others must find new building materials Things were also stolen in the aftermath of the storm,” he said.
JEMIMA BEUKES
Burgershoek is the one of the town's poorer areas and is home to many squatters and unemployed people.
The Rehoboth Urban West constituency leadership has appealed to Good Samaritans who can assist with donations of corrugated iron sheets or mattresses and blankets.
One of the affected people was an elderly man who had spent about N$25 000 to build his makeshift house which has been completely destroyed.
Other people barely scraped together enough material to build their dwellings which have been lost to the strong winds as well.
“It is such a tragedy, but the good thing is that no one was injured. The saddest part is that some people are not in town as they are working outside Rehoboth and have not yet returned to see their homes are gone,” said Jan van Wyk, a member of parliament and the constituency leadership.
He added that many of the residents cannot afford to buy new building material as they are either pensioners or unemployed people.
Meanwhile, a caravan belonging to another elderly man was blown around and eventually landed on its roof, while shacks were simply blown apart.
“Even people's belongings were blown away.
Some people have managed to iron out their corrugated iron sheets and have started repairing their homes, while others must find new building materials Things were also stolen in the aftermath of the storm,” he said.
JEMIMA BEUKES
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article