ONGWEDIVA – A family at Iishanaputa village in the Outapi Constituency in Omusati lives in fear after some small cracks in their house widened into deeper cracks over the months.
From the ground, the cracks cut through the brick rooms affecting the walls and stretch further deep into their mahangu field.
The walls of the affected rooms are severely cracked with some portions already about to fall apart.
Describing how deep the cracks are, the owner of the house Malakia Nashilongo said the cracks are deeper than the length of a broomstick, estimating it to be closer to three metres deep.
Although they do not seem to be too wide now, Nashilongo said they have grown wider in the last few months.
Nashilongo said the family started noticing cracks last year, which seemed small at the time.
“We thought that they were going to disappear with time, but instead the number of lines started increasing and those already visible becoming wider,” explained Nashilongo.
“We are approaching the rainy season and scared they will widen with rain and thunderstorms. It is startling to think that that we may not be able to produce food next year, even if we receive sufficient rain because our crop field has also been affected,” said Nashilongo.
As a result of the cracks, the family also had to put their building project on hold.
The family had bought building materials to extend their house, however, they are unable to continue because of the situation in which they find themselves.
They are now looking for assistance in the form of expert advice on the status of the cracks and whether they could continue to live in the house.
“This is our home, but we need to know if it is safe to continue living here,” said Nashilongo.
New Era has notified the Ministry of Mines and Energy of the situation that is currently studying the situation.
Expert advice was however not available at the time of going to print.