Flash floods leave Windhoek’s informal settlement residents stranded, urgent aid needed

A number of Windhoek’s informal settlement residents were left without shelter after their shacks were damaged by heavy rains on Saturday.

Some of the hardest-hit spots include the area behind Otjomuise Police Station, the City of Windhoek says.

Some residents of the Samora Machel constituency fear they may lose everything if flash floods continue.

“There was a lot water leaking from the roof because of the poor structure and the old corrugated iron sheet my shack is made from,” Goreangab resident Kakoto Kawatja (36) says.

The unemployed mother of three says members of the household had to put buckets where the roof was leaking.

“We need assistance from the municipality to build better structures, especially during the rainy season,” she says.

Greenwell Matongo community activist Ranciah !Gaes says she has been getting calls from desperate residents pleading for help with blankets and clothes.

“One resident from Okapale says she had to sleep at a neighbour’s house because her shack was flooded,” she says.

!Gaes says most residents are pleading for donations to buy material to build stronger structures.

City of Windhoek councillor Austin Kwenani says the municipality’s emergency department had a meeting at Otjomuise on Sunday to assess the situation and help prevent further damage.

“We are seized with the matter,” he says.

Kwenani says it has been suggested that those without shelter be moved to the Ramatex building at Otjomuise.

“We have not yet made a decision on that, but we are monitoring the situation,” he says.

The flash floods took place after the City of Windhoek issued a warning against heavy rains.