27 Oct 2013

Hailstorm last week swept through Maitengwe in the North East District, leaving a trail of destruction.

A child was injured and  45 homes destroyed. The child broke his arm. According to one of the victims and a tenant in Village Development Committee houses, Ms Akanyang Letshwenyo, the storm, which ravaged the village on Thursday (October 24) started in the afternoon. There was disruption to the power supply as house roofs were blown away

She said the storm, which lasted for about 15 minutes, shattered window panes and destroyed furniture , among others. When the BOPA team arrived at the village on Thursday morning some victims were still trying to fix their houses as they had nowhere to find alternative accommodation.

A victim who is a businessperson running the Nkoma General Dealer and Fresh Produce, Mr Nkobi Masole, said the storm destroyed his stock. He said the new stock affected amounted to P25 000 but was unable to give estimation of the old stock.

The deputy district commissioner, in Tutume Sub-district, Mr Michael Chilimba said they had recorded 45 houses affected by the storm during the ongoing assessment. He said Guthu ward was the most affected.

He also said besides homes being destroyed, some people’s belongings such as furniture and groceries were destroyed during the storm. He explained that a standard six pupil at Nshamba Primary school broke his arm after he fell during the hailstorm.

Mr Chilimba said they would provide temporary shelter to the most affected families. He said about eight families were left homeless while other affected families had more than three houses as an alternative accommodation.

For his part, the area MP, Mr Edwin Batshu, said despite the damage caused by the storm people were still hopeful of rains. He encouraged the community to build stronger structures which could withstand such eventualities, calling upon constructors to also help in coming up with such structures when engaged to build houses by community members. house were of relatively infirm structures.

Mr Batshu appreciated team work displayed by the village authorities in handling the crisis. ENDS