Three families of Chijingejinge compound of Kabompo district in North-western province are living in the cold h after their houses had their roofs blown off following a heavy downpour over the weekend.
Ruth Mukuma, an affected mother of three, narrates her family just heard a loud bang during the pour of the rains and half of the roof of her house came off leaving everything soaked.
Ms. Mukuma narrated the ordeal to ZANIS in Kabompo today during an impromptu visit by the newly appointed district commissioner, Hebert Chinyanga to ascertain the extent of the damage.
“We were sleeping in the house when it was raining and just heard a loud noise and realized the roof had been blown off.
“We thank God no one was injured but we have had all our clothes and things soaked in water”, she said.
Another victim, Sanganzi Maliti appealed to the disaster management and mitigation unit (DMMU) to come to his family’s aid as the extent of his house’s damage is sever to bear alone.
Mr Maliti said all the roofing of the living room of the house has been blown off and has only sourced for a tent to cover the affected part temporarily.
“I want to thank you commissioner and your officers for coming to see us during this time. As you can see all items have been damaged with water so we have just found a tent which we have covered for the time being but please ask the DMMU to help us in whichever way you can as we cannot manage alone”, he said.
Meanwhile, the district commissioner Hubert Chinyanga told the affected families not to relent as the relevant authorities had been notified as the extent of the damage has already been ascertained.
Expressing gratitude that no injuries or lives were lost during the ordeal, Mr Chinyanga further advised the need for renovation of old structures as time usually wears off even quality built infrastructure.
“Having seen the extent of the damage we are going to ensure that relevant authorities come to our aid as this has already been reported.
“Do not despair as material things can easily be replaced other than life ,it is good no injury or loss of life has been recorded”, Mr. Chinyanga said.
The District Commissioner also visited the government guest house which is acting as an epidemic isolation center which also had the roofing for the kitchen blown out during the heavy rains.
Mr Chinyanga stated that the district administration will immediately replace the affected part of the guest house as the damage was not too extreme since only a small part was affected.
ZANIS
