Rains destroy 40 houses in Mpongwe
Rains destroy 40 houses in MpongweWritten by Zumani Katasefa in Mpongwe
Thursday, December 04, 2008 4:46:13 AM
OVER 40 houses in Mpongwe's Mwanga village last Saturday collapsed following heavy downpours the area has been experiencing in the last few days.
Trees and electrical polls were also uprooted by the heavy rains that lasted for about 40 minutes.
One of the affected residents Winstone Nyirenda said the heavy rains accompanied by a strong wind, further blew off a roof and caused extensive damage to Chawama School.
"The rains started at about 14:00 hours. Most of us were forced to spend a night in the cold after our houses collapsed, as you can see we are just trying to rebuild our structures. The rains were so violent as they were accompanied by a strong wind. Since I was born, I have never seen such a strong wind," he remarked.
Nyirenda said the only market in the area was also not spared by the rains, adding that a roof at the Apostolic Church was also blown off.
"The area member of parliament Gabrial Namulambe was in the constituency the time the houses collapsed but he never came to visit us. We informed our area councillor about the problem, who in turn told the MP about the matter, but unfortunately we did not see him here," said Nyirenda.
Both Mpongwe district commissioner Micheal Tandeo and council secretary Moses Kamocha also confirmed the destruction of the houses but said they had not yet visited the area by press time.
Mwanga village is a stronghold of the opposition Patriotic Front and it is the only area in Mpongwe that has a PF councillor.
Nampamba ward councillor Bornwell Mwape described the situation as unfortunate, adding that some villagers in the area were still struggling with accommodation.
"At the time the incident happened, I was at the council chamber attending a meeting and while there, I informed the MP that houses had collapsed but the MP was committed; he could not rush to the area to assess the damage," he said.
Mwape also appealed to the government to assist the affected villagers with tents to provide temporally shelter before they could put up better houses.
He also complained that people in his ward lacked clean water.
"There is also need to help my people with a clinic nearby, my people are usually forced to walk over 200 kilometres to access medical services at Mpongwe Mission Hospital, each time they fall sick. This is very bad," said Mwape.
posted by MrK @ 4:46 AM
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