PHOTO: Partial view of some houses hits by the violent rainstorm
By Emmanuel Mafelah, mafelahemmanuel29@gmail.com
GBARNGA, Liberia- As if the deadly Coronavirus panic that has prompted the ongoing lockdown, a violent rainstorm has added to the nightmare of hundreds of residents of Gbarnga, Bong County.
The devastating storm over the weekend left some 350 people homeless, as the heavy wind tore off the roofs of their house, prompting serious humanitarian crisis, in the Chief Compound Community in this central Liberian city, nearly 198 kilometers from Monrovia.
The storm came with torrential rainfall and thunder strikes that lasted for several hours.
At least 85 houses reportedly got damaged as a result of the rainstorm. with occupants forced to sleep in the open air. Since the storm hit the area, locals are still struggling to deal with the damage it left behind.
Some houses in the Chief compound Community were completely deroofed.
Currently, most of the people affected by the storm disaster are residing in congested family homes, as they eagerly await assistance to begin rebuilding their now shattered lives.
One fear is that the disaster has caused big grouping of people in sharp contrast to the social distancing protocol required by health authorities, as an effective means of fighting the spread of the Coronavirus.
“I am worried that the only house that I have got de-roofed by the violent storm during this humanitarian crisis in our Country (Coronavirus pandemic),’’ Madam Kebbeh Daniel, a single mother with five children spoke in frustration.
Another residents, Isaac Willie of the chief compound Community said that the violent storm incident have brought serious embarrassment 5o their lives.
Since the storm disaster occurred, there has been no large-scale intervention by both government and humanitarian organizations except the office of the Inspector that provided assistance to few severely affected households.
“We are overwhelmed with the current situation here and do not have the capacity to provide the needed assistance to people affected by the Wednesday storm in this city. I am adding my voice to those affected for the central government to immediately come to their aid because we are overburdened right now,’’ Mr. Victor Wesseh, Bong County Inspector stressed in an interview with our Correspondent.
This is not the first violent storm incident to occur in Gbarnga, but this latest one seems to be one of the worst, with more negative impact on residents especially during this health crisis.
They are meanwhile appealing to members of the Bong County legislative caucus, well-meaning sons and daughters of the County both in Liberia and in the diaspora to urgently come to their aid.
Victims of this natural disaster want the National Disaster Management Agency through the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Liberia Red Cross, including other humanitarian organizations to urgently assist them with food and building materials such as zinc, nails, among other relief items.