ONGWEDIVA – At least 10 schools in Omusati Region are affected by floods, which has led to the suspension of classes and the closure of six schools.
The affected schools are in the Okalongo Constituency, which is close to the Namibian-Angolan border. The community claims that villages on the Namibian side of the border plus villages on the Angolan side received heavy rains a week ago, leading to flooding of the area.
“The oshanas are full and the water is moving but the water levels are also rising,” said one concerned teacher who preferred anonymity.
The teacher claimed that a number of schools had already closed due to the flooding, but added that based on the rate at which the water level was rising more schools were likely to be closed by today.
Some of the closed schools including Onembaba Combined School teach Grade 10s who are busy preparing for mock examinations, thus the flooding is a serious worry.
Inspector of Education in Omusati Region Laban Shapange confirmed that six schools in Okalongo have been either partially or completely closed, adding that two more schools in the same area are under close observation.
Shapange could however not provide figures on how many learners were affected, maintaining that it was a weekend and thus he could not access statistics.
The hydrologist in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry Leonard Hango verified that the Okalongo area was indeed flooded and that floodwaters from Angola had reached the western Cuvelai catchment areas.
“Our monitoring system has reported that efundja (flooding) is here and it has reached the western Cuvelai catchment areas,” explained Hango. He could however not shed more light on the flooding, maintaining that he was yet to visit the flooded areas, which he would do by yesterday afternoon or today to personally monitor the situation.
By Helvy Shaanika