ONGWEDIVA – A number of houses in Oshakati are flooded, and residents are now pleading with the town council to come to their rescue.

This challenge follows good rains in the northern regions over the past two weeks and the arrival of efundja in the Oshana region on Friday. 

Veronika Ndeunyema from the Onawa informal settlement requested the Oshakati Town Council to do something immediately.

“They came to drop us in the water. This is very dangerous for our health and children too,” she stressed.

She said they are now confused about whether they are surrounded by rainwater or flood, since it has been raining for the past few days, and they have been told the flood has reached the Oshana region. Another resident of Ehenye, Monica Kaleb, said she has been living in the location for more than three years now – but every year, it is the same problem – her house flooded every year.

The flooding woes of Oshakati are now almost an annual occurrence.   Residents of informal townships are usually displaced, and infrastructure and other property suffer due to damage caused by the flood. When New Era visited the town, most informal settlements are also inundated with water and the catchment areas overflowing with water.

Most of the affected areas are Ehenye, Onawa, Oshoopala, Oneshila and Evululuko.

Onawa informal settlement is the most affected area, where houses are underwater because it is a new area where residents from different informal settlements were relocated and no water channels have been set in place for water flow.

Over the years, the Oshakati Town Council has worked on flood mitigation projects by constructing new and rehabilitating old stormwater channels, as well as deepening earth water channels at various settlements at the town.

It is reported that the council has used millions for the construction of an embankment and stormwater channels aimed at mitigating flash floods. According to the town council’s spokesperson, Katarina Kamari, the embankments were created in some parts of the town to deepen rivers and water channels within the town to hold more water to avoid it from flowing into residential areas. 

“The council continues to make budgetary provision of stormwater channels in town to allow for easy flow of water. The town’s water channels have already been constructed in the areas of Ekuku and Ehenye and will be constructed in other parts of the town that are normally flooded by water,” she said.

Kamari added that Oshakati has a disaster risk management committee that has been engaging on ways to attend to flood-related challenges in town. 

In addition, provision of tents, ablution facilities and water is already prepared to be made at the relation site.  “The council has also purchased a rescue pomp, which will be used in emergency cases to reduce water in areas that are highly affected by flooding,’’ she said. Kamari further said the council has already commenced with the relocation of houses that are in flood-prone areas, such as Oshoopala location, which is one of the most affected locations in town. 

She also said the council has made provision for relocating the Oshoopala households to the Onawa location.

- vkaapanda@nepc.com.na