---

---

The Daily Observer (Banjul)

Gambia: Rainstorm Batters Babylon Houses

Hatab Fadera

5 September 2008

---

A rainstorm severely battered houses in Babylon Village, Kombo North, destroying at least a dozen houses and displacing families.

The severity of the rainstorm was such that most of the houses were left roofless and the physical structures destroyed beyond repair.

Fresh reports reaching the Daily Observer indicated that Tuesday's storm had forced some families to seek shelter at a compound allocated to them by the village Alkalo, Lamin Jarju, but others lodged with relatives, family friends and other neighbours.

Speaking in an interview with the Daily Observer, Barran Touray, whose house was seriously affected by the storm, said he was at a mosque in the evening and experienced a severe shock upon sighting his suddenly roofless house when he returned from prayers. Mr Touray disclosed that household fittings were completely destroyed and foodstuffs and some fertilisers not spared.

"The situation is very worrying. The storm occurred at a very bad moment as we continue to experience unprecedented rainfall. Our conditions are very unfavourable at this moment and we have been left without a house of our own. If not for the generosity of the village Alkalo, I wonder where we would have been lodged," the Babylon farmer told the Daily Observer.

Touray noted that only urgent interventions could help alleviate their suffering. He appealed to the government, disaster relief organisations, and Samaritans to come to their aid.

Another affected victim, Bassa Jammeh, said their condition has been deteriorating since the storm unleashed its havoc.

"Our household materials, such as cooking utensils and foodstuffs, were all destroyed by the rainstorm," a visibly disturbed Mrs Jammeh told the Daily Observer, while ardently appealing for urgent assistance. Amadou Bah, also a victim, echoed the call for appeal.

Read comments. Write your own.

---