Floods leave trail of destruction in Nata-Gweta

Lebogang Mosikare | Friday March 3, 2017 15:39

The deputy district commissioner, Michael Chilimba for the Tutume sub-district, which oversees the Nata-Gweta constituency, said at Gweta, they had distributed tents to two households whose homes were flooded by water.

Chilimba, who is also the chairperson of Tutume sub-district council disaster management committee, said at Tsokotshaa one child who has contracted Malaria was airlifted by a Botswana Defence Force (BDF) helicopter from her home, which was flooded by water.

The child, Chilimba said, was then taken to an ambulance, which took her to Gweta Primary Hospital for medical attention.

“It was impossible to reach the child using the road because they are flooded with water. We then enlisted the help of the BDF who airlifted her out of her place before she was taken to the hospital,” said a worried Chilimba.

Chilimba said there is a lot of water on the road for about a kilometre between Zoroga and Nata.

He added that at Gweta, they gave tents to some people whose homes were destroyed by the floods. Chilimba said he was not in a position to quantify how many tents they have distributed in the village because he was still awaiting a report from social workers.

“I think we gave about 15 people tents in the whole constituency, but I am not in a position to confirm that now since I am on my way from Gweta as we speak,” he said.

Chilimba said his office also is using boats from the National Disaster Management Office to ferry people across a river at Sepako.

“We have also helped people who were left homeless by the floods with food and other social amenities.

The water level in some places within the constituency is not that bad, but some roads have been washed away by rain,” said Chilimba.

He said the floods have dug and increased potholes on the roads, which makes impossible for small cars to travel along the watery roads.

The station commander of Gweta police Godfrey Mafa said the flooding in Gweta is not so dire. Mafa said the floods started at Zoroga where most of the water is coming from.

He said there is a lot of water on the right side of the junction that is on the outskirts of Gweta. The situation, Mafa said, has necessitated that they regularly monitor the situation of the floods in order to help members of the public if the need arises.

“We have given 32 people tents at Tsokotshaa. Most of the homes where we distributed tents are mud huts and they didn’t necessarily collapse because of the floods,” said Mafa.