By: Ludorf Iyambo
Disaster risk management head at the City of Windhoek Abel Humutenya said the informal settlements in the city are the most likely to be affected by expected flooding this rainy season.
“We received the rain focused in September 2021 from the metrological services. We are urging all the people living in water’s way to be cautious that there might be heavy rains because we have heard that Namibia is to receive the average of normal above normal.”
On Tuesday, the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) ‘s Climate Services Centre (CSC) warned of expected heavy rainfall triggered by Cyclone Batsirai.
Namibia, Malawi, Tanzania, Angola, South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe are the countries in the region that are likely to be affected.
“We also reactivated our teams. We started meetings checking what the city can do if the city gets a flash flood. We are thinking about the whole city, including the informal settlements and all the people leaving around the city,” Hamutenya told The Villager.
The disaster risk management head said that people should not be living close to riverbanks or even up the hills because it is dangerous.
“Not only that is dangerous because of flooding, but even if they are to get sick, an ambulance will not be able to reach that area.”
Hamutenya further told The Villager that the city already told some residents to relocate in 2020, and several people have relocated to better areas.
“We know all the rivers in Moses Garoeb, the rivers in Otjomuise, the residents in those rivers, and terms of assessments. We know our hotspots. Our message is consistent, that if people are in danger, they should seek the city’s assistance. If they can move before, maybe to family members or neighbours, that will be the good thing so that we will not lose any lives”.
However, several residents who spoke to The Villager this week said they did not have anywhere else to go and were not informed where they could relocate to should the rains worsen.
Residents of Otjomuise7de Laan said that rain dropped in Windhoek from the previous days; they had already seen some effects.
“This is not our first time we find ourselves in such circumstances, but the city of Windhoek does not do their job on time”.
“It cost us a lot if they move us from one location to another one because some of us have kids that schools here in Otjomuise, and if they are to take us to Goreangab, for instance, it will be another carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders.”
Informal settlement residents whose homes were hit by heavy downpours on Sunday have described their living conditions as a nightmare.
The residents request the City of Windhoek to come on the ground and make self-assessments to see how they can help them. They claimed that there are quite open spaces in their areas, but they do not know what the municipality is reserving them.
“We want the municipality to allow us to occupy those open spaces while they are getting for us better places. We are not living in riverbanks because we want to. It is just the situation forcing us”, said one of the residents.
