At
least 40 houses were destroyed by the heavy rain and windstorm in Jarra Bureng
village in Lower River Region on Saturday.
The
rain started around 1am with heavy wind which lasted for about five hours and
blew off the roofs of more than 40 houses in the village.
Mustapha
Jobe, a native of Bureng, said: “The rain has made a serious destruction in the
village; it has made the lives of the people very difficult.”
He
appealed to the government, Red Cross, National Disaster Management Agency,
NGOs and individual philanthropists to come to the aid of the victims,
particularly in building their houses.
The
victims, Mustapha said, also need food support for they have lost most of their
properties including stored food.
In
addition to the houses destroyed, he said due to the heavy long hours of rain
and wind, many trees fell down.
As
a result, the community needs assistance of seedlings from the forestry
department, America embassy and the National Environment Agency to embark on
tree planting exercise.
Mustapha
said Bureng is a century old village with houses made of mud blocks and
thatched roofs and has a population of 4,000 people.
He
said Bureng people are mostly farmers and the tragedy of the rain has cost
nightmare to the people.
He
said at the level of the community, they are working with the victims of rain
to build temporary houses while also trying to take care of their farms as
their source of living.
Meanwhile,
Mustapha commended the natives of Bureng in the diaspora for their swift
support by sending in D100,000 for the affected households to buy rice for
their upkeep.
He
also applauded the government, security forces, NEA, Red Cross and GRTS for
visiting the affected victims.
