Floods devastate Ohangwena
Families worry about the future
A headman has warned that the devastated communities will face severe food insecurity once the floods retreat.
Weeks after unprecedented floods ravaged the Ohangwena Region, massive swathes of farmland, homesteads and cuca shops remain under water.
Officials from the Ohangwena Regional Council's disaster risk management committee and officials from the prime minister's office started the process of evacuating and relocating 20 families to dry land on Monday.
The Namibian Defence Force has been deployed to assist trapped families and individuals and to transport food, mattresses and blankets.
Scared and lost
Most families had no time to prepare for the floods. In the blink of an eye, they lost everything – their homes, crops, livestock.
It could take months, even years, to recover from the sheer scale of the devastation.
Rosalia Mwoongela, a pensioner, said she is grateful for the fast government response but fears she will find her house destroyed upon returning from the temporary shelter.
"I am not refusing to be evacuated, but you know how thieves are. They will come at night when it’s raining and remove our corrugated iron and all the other valuables, and the neighbours will not be able to assist in a heavy storm," she said.
An unfolding disaster
Onaminda village headman in the Oshikango constituency, George Ngololo, said the floods are likely to push people further into poverty.
Ngololo warned that food insecurity will reach emergency levels once the floods retreat, with potentially disastrous long-term consequences for the survival and well-being of those whose fields have been destroyed.
He said that, apart from his own household, 19 more homesteads were affected in his village.
"To be honest, I don’t sleep well. A big part of my land has been damaged, and only a small part has been spared, which will not take us until the next rainy season. We are going to look to our government for assistance," he said.
He also expressed concern that the hardest-hit areas are populated by the most vulnerable communities, with already poor access to water and sanitation.
Ngololo nevertheless expressed gratitude towards the government for what he termed "a speedy response to their plight".
He urged villagers not to panic or spread rumours.
Worried
Hilma Mwaudikange watched as her neighbours carried their belongings away. Close to tears, she said it reminds her of times of war.
"Whether we were sleeping, eating, or even just sitting together, we couldn’t help but think of the people who had nothing to eat or drink because their houses were destroyed. Looking at them leaving feels like war. As if they are escaping their homes because the enemy is coming. It is sad," she said.
Theresia Petrus has also been forced to evacuate, and said she lost her national identity documents during the chaos.
She left on a government vehicle with her two young children.
The mood was solemn as the government vehicles arrived at the site of the erected tents, their temporary homes for the foreseeable future. The cries of the children could be heard. The parents looked worried.
Officials from the Ohangwena Regional Council's disaster risk management committee and officials from the prime minister's office started the process of evacuating and relocating 20 families to dry land on Monday.
The Namibian Defence Force has been deployed to assist trapped families and individuals and to transport food, mattresses and blankets.
Scared and lost
Most families had no time to prepare for the floods. In the blink of an eye, they lost everything – their homes, crops, livestock.
It could take months, even years, to recover from the sheer scale of the devastation.
Rosalia Mwoongela, a pensioner, said she is grateful for the fast government response but fears she will find her house destroyed upon returning from the temporary shelter.
"I am not refusing to be evacuated, but you know how thieves are. They will come at night when it’s raining and remove our corrugated iron and all the other valuables, and the neighbours will not be able to assist in a heavy storm," she said.
An unfolding disaster
Onaminda village headman in the Oshikango constituency, George Ngololo, said the floods are likely to push people further into poverty.
Ngololo warned that food insecurity will reach emergency levels once the floods retreat, with potentially disastrous long-term consequences for the survival and well-being of those whose fields have been destroyed.
He said that, apart from his own household, 19 more homesteads were affected in his village.
"To be honest, I don’t sleep well. A big part of my land has been damaged, and only a small part has been spared, which will not take us until the next rainy season. We are going to look to our government for assistance," he said.
He also expressed concern that the hardest-hit areas are populated by the most vulnerable communities, with already poor access to water and sanitation.
Ngololo nevertheless expressed gratitude towards the government for what he termed "a speedy response to their plight".
He urged villagers not to panic or spread rumours.
Worried
Hilma Mwaudikange watched as her neighbours carried their belongings away. Close to tears, she said it reminds her of times of war.
"Whether we were sleeping, eating, or even just sitting together, we couldn’t help but think of the people who had nothing to eat or drink because their houses were destroyed. Looking at them leaving feels like war. As if they are escaping their homes because the enemy is coming. It is sad," she said.
Theresia Petrus has also been forced to evacuate, and said she lost her national identity documents during the chaos.
She left on a government vehicle with her two young children.
The mood was solemn as the government vehicles arrived at the site of the erected tents, their temporary homes for the foreseeable future. The cries of the children could be heard. The parents looked worried.
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