Flash Floods Keep Students At Home
Children from the Matata and the Valenicina settlements in Lami stayed home as flood waters from a nearby creek flowed onto the road leading out to the settlement.
Wednesday 09 October 2019 | 10:50
Valenicina and Matata settlement residents of Lami cross the flooded bridge on October 8, 2019. Photo: Ronald Kumar
Children from the Matata and the Valenicina settlements in Lami stayed home as flood waters from a nearby creek flowed onto the road leading out to the settlement.
The cause for this overflow was linked to the poor drainage system.
According to residents, the culvert which the creek feeds into was blocked.
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Antonio Lemeki said his children had not gone to school and only a few were able to make it to work.
“The water receded around 10am (yesterday). That is when people were able to cross. The water level became low and the currents weaken,” he said.
Right next to the creek is the Metromix Concrete Limited yard and office. Flood waters entered the yard and washed off gravel and sand.
Operations manager Faiz Hussein said the company had shifted to the premises 10 years ago. He said they had made complaints to the authorities about the culverts.
“We have asked them to improve the drainage. Heavy rain resulted in losses to the company and some equipment was also damaged,” he said.
Neighbouring companies also experienced flooding.
Edited by Susana Tuilau
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