A HEAVY rainstorm, which broke out on Tuesday afternoon, destroyed several houses at Aroab, leaving 84-year-old Petrus Kooper, who has been living in a one-bedroomed house for the past 42 years, without shelter.
"I want my house to be rebuilt, otherwise where will I go? I don't have a place. Now I have to move around when I had my own house," says Kooper.
Kooper has been living alone for years. He is now sheltered by another family in the town.
At the time of the incident, he was not at home.
He is appealing for help to rebuild his house.
Another resident, Andrew deJay (59), and five members of his household also had to find alternative shelter after the storm blew off the roof of their house.
"My kids are at my fathers' house until I restructure. I now live in the Aroab town lands where I have a small farm, but it does not really provide a lot of income...," said DeJay.
His house is still under water and he fears his furniture, which is still in the house, could suffer further damage or could be stolen.
"Yesterday (Wednesday) there was rain again. When it rains, the whole house is under water. So, afterwards we will test the electrical equipment and see if anything is still in working condition. I know the wood on the beds will swell because of the amount of water. I know it will not be the same again," he added.
At the time of the incident, DeJay was attending a council meeting and the rest of the members of his household were not home.
"In the meeting, I told the chief executive officer of the village council that a storm was going to break out, and just 20 minutes after that, someone came and told me my roof was [blown] off. I asked them if there was anyone there and they told me no one was there. I said thank God because losing someone's life is something one can never regain," he said.
Vera Golly (45) said the rain destroyed part of her wall and, since she is living alone, the damage will be heavy on her pocket.
Keetmanshoop Rural constituency councillor Gertjie Witbooi said they would do an assessment and submit it to the regional disaster management committee.
"We as the community, businesses, leaders and council would have to stand together to bring the situation back to normal," he added.
