EXPECT MORE DISASTROUS RAINS

MBABANE – Expect more disaster!  The above warning was shared by Baphalali Eswatini Red Cross Society. This follows the predictions of extreme rainfall to be received by the country, which may result in flooding.

The country is expected to receive excessive rains between Sunday and Monday. Rains to be received come shortly after the Tropical Cyclone Eloise which hit the country, rendering 758 households, which is about 4 380 people, vulnerable.

Confirmed 

So far, Baphalali Eswatini Red Cross Society has managed to reach out to 150 households with response material, which is approximately 550 people. Disaster Management Coordinator Wonderboy Ginindza confirmed the looming sad reality which could be faced by the recent cyclone victims. 

According to Ginindza, should the flooding happen, victims will be far worse-off, especially because the greatest need right now is shelter. “Some of the beneficiaries still do not have shelter and households which were partially damaged may eventually collapse as they were not in good shape,” he said in an interview. Ginindza also mentioned that a food security crisis was looming because most of the households did not have alternative sources of income to buy food or grow crops. The coordinator said various areas were still being assessed and most roads were inaccessible. However, he stated that their teams were also constantly doing the necessary assessments to update the registrar.  

He said while food and clothing were needed by the victims, what stood out was shelter because by nature it was not easy to address it in a short time. 

As an initial response to the recent Tropical Cyclone Eloise effects situation, Ginindza said they provided mainly clothing and they had received donations of food parcels and blankets, which were currently being distributed according to the prevailing vulnerability per household.

Emergency 

“The organisation is always ready to respond but some processes need to be done in any case of a disaster, depending on the nature of the emergency,” he said.

Further, he noted that the International Federation Red Cross (IFRC) usually supported them with emergency funding when they had extreme disaster incidents. Meanwhile, Communications Manager at the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) Wandile Mavuso said it was unfortunate that Eswatini Meteorological Services had predicted possible flooding yet they were still struggling to respond to the effects of the recent Tropical Cyclone Eloise. Mavuso acknowledged the fact that the organisation was overwhelmed as they were still trying to respond to the past flooding damages, yet there was also the current COVID-19 pandemic as well. “A lot of damage was caused by the Tropical Cyclone Eloise, resulting in critical infrastructure being damaged including roads,” he explained.

He said NDMA was currently responding to roads covering at least 775km and 53 bridges which were damaged by the floods. Mavuso stated that government, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, NDMA and Members of Parliament, had collaborated to rehabilitate some of the roads which had been damaged by Tropical Cyclone Eloise.

The NDMA communications officer said when disaster struck, their mandate was to respond and assist the nation in every possible way. Mavuso said they had realised in the past flooding an increase in drowning incidents, claiming six lives in different episodes.

Crossing 

He said it was for that reason they urged members of the public who were near riverbanks to avoid crossing flooded rivers. Mavuso said the nation should take the necessary precautions when crossing flooded rivers and dams. 

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