28 Feb 2017

North East District Commissioner (DC), Mr Keabetswe Lesiela has said 60 homesteads, three general dealer shops and some of the graveled internal roads at Tatisiding have been affected by the heavy rains that were experienced over the weekend.

Mr Lesiela said this in an interview, noting that most of the affected homesteads were left waterlogged while the gravel from the internal roads was swept away, thereby leaving some of these roads difficult to access.

Additionally, he said only one mud house collapsed and the occupant has moved in with relatives for safety and some of the affected families were evacuated on Sunday night to Tatisiding Primary School for temporary accommodation.

Mr Lesiela said 15 families were assisted with food baskets while 20 individuals were assisted with blankets and 17 school going children’s books were also damaged and necessary liaisons with relevant stakeholders are underway to possibly assist.

“When we re-visited the affected areas on Monday morning, water levels in some of the homesteads had receded, thus giving occupants a chance to fix the damage. So far 15 families needed assistance on food baskets and others were given blankets,” he said.

The DC noted that more than P13 000 has been used to buy food items and other necessities for the victims and the Social and Community Development (S&CD) officials and other stakeholders will continue to be on the ground to keep an eye.

“Some officials will be on the ground for further assessment and assistance, we have also identified some evacuation centres should the need arise,” he said.

Mr Lesiela also noted that they felt challenged to assess the damaged caused in some of the homesteads that are left unoccupied.

Meanwhile, Mr Lesiela said some of the identified issues that led to the challenges of water logging in some yards are that of the narrow end of some culverts along the main roads.

He said some culverts are too narrow such that when filled up, the water spills off and diverts into nearby yards and some of the culverts are stuck with mud and pebbles, thereby making it difficult for the water to flow.

“We are working closely with the concerned departments so as to address challenges on culverts,” he said.

Mr Lesiela also highlighted that some of the screen walls in some yards are constructed in such a way that there is no space left to permit the flow out of water and  as such, water is collected and remains stagnant and hence causing waterlogging.

He also expressed a concern about some capable individuals who fail to take necessary steps even if their safety and that of their property is compromised.

The DC said some are often reluctant to act before hand and only wait for the intervention of the Disaster Management Committees when more damage that could have been prevented had occurred.BOPA/SP/28/02/17