09 Mar 2014

The National Disaster Management Office is prepared to assist people affected by floods that are ravaging the northern part of the country.

The department's director, Mr Moagi Baleseng said in an interview that his office had been able to sensitise the public about imminent hazards through the help of district disaster management offices around the country.

He said five day forecasts received daily through the Department of Meteorological Services had been able to inform the office and the districts on the areas that were likely to be affected.

He further noted that relief supplies such as tents and generators, among others, had been prepositioned at national, regional and district centres for efficient response. “Boats have been availed in Tutume Sub-district to rescue people who may be affected,” he said.

He said airboats had been dispatched to assist affected areas and that trucks were dispatched to Tshwaane/ Malelejwe to evacuate households and other resources from the Botswana Police Service and Botswana Defence Force had been mobilised to augment existing resources.

Mr Baleseng said during the current rains, Tutume Sub-district was the worst affected by floods as Tutume and Nkange rivers were reported to be overflowing. He said to date, one family in Tutume, two in Maposa, one in Dukwi and two in Manxotae had been affected and assisted with tents and food baskets.

He said public infrastructures such as access roads to Goshwe/Matobo, Tshwaane/Malelejwe, Lepashe and Manxotae had been damaged by the rains and assessments were ongoing in these areas to determine the number of households that have been affected and their needs. The public was also urged to keep away from overflowing rivers.

Meanwhile, a press release from the Department of Meteorological Services has advised the public that the torrential rains that had been experienced over most parts of the country in the last couple of days were expected to continue up to the end of the week.

“Given that, the recent rains have resulted with a lot of water on the ground there is a high possibility of increased flash flood events in some parts of the areas affected by the current rains,” the release said.

It further stated that the public was advised to exercise utmost caution as they went about executing their daily chores or businesses to avoid flood related accidents. The department continued to watch the development of events and the public will be updated accordingly. Ends