05 Mar 2019

Some residents of Francistown West constituency are reeling in shock after a hailstorm swept through the area on Sunday leaving behind a trail of destruction.

Following the hailstorm, area MP, Mr Ignatius Moswaane, assistant district commissioner, Ms Tebogo Hlabano and other senior government officials visited the area to assess the damage.

Ms Ndiyezwe Jakoba, a resident whose house was affected by the hailstorm narrated how it all happened. “We were sleeping inside the house when we suddenly heard the sound of a strong wind which began to violently shake the iron sheets and subsequently broke roof trusses leaving us exposed to the rain. It was a terrifying experience,” she said. 

The visibly troubled woman added that she lost a number of household items to the storm. 

Ms Kumule Montsho’s roof was also blown away by the winds. They were also left counting their loses as a number of household items including furniture, clothes and food were soaked in water.

Ms Mavis Noah’s two-roomed house also had its roof swept away by the violent wind when we paid her a visit. 

“We were lucky none of us got injured in the process. Even the two-months old baby is just fine because we all managed to flee to safety when the hailstorm intensified,” she said.

In a brief interview, Ms Hlabano said most of the damage the team saw in their fact finding mission was  damaged trusses and rooftops. She said both Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) and Francistown City Council (FCC) electricity personnel were on the ground to normalise damaged powerlines.

“We identified three homes which were badly affected and have recorded an injury of a minor who got injured on the back as he tried to run for safety during the storm. 

The child has since been to the hospital for medical check-up,” she said.

As a temporary relief measure, Ms Hlabano said tents would be given to families whose houses were badly affected while the social welfare office would make further assessments and assist affected families with food. ends