Over 300 compounds destroyed in LRR, WR

More than 300 compounds were destroyed by the recent heavy rains in the Lower River and Western regions of the country, according to the latest reports reaching this paper.

The regional disaster co-ordinator for Lower River Region (LRR), Lamin Saidy, confirmed that as many as 48 houses collapsed in five out of six districts in his region during the heavy downpour of rain on Sunday and Monday.

Mr Saidy revealed this in a telephone interview with The Point from his Mansa-konko office yesterday morning.

He said the districts affected were Kiang Central, Kiang East, Jarra West, Jarra Central and Jarra East.

"In Kiang Central, three houses in the village of Tendaba, four in Kiang East district in the villages of Jeneiri, Jasobo, Toranka Bantang and Koloir, and four in the Jarra West district were destroyed," he said. "Also, three bulls and one donkey drowned at Sare Biram village resulting in the death of one bull out of the three bulls in that community."

"In Jarra Central, 17 houses collapsed within four villages namely, Jasita Fulla, Musa Arldo, Dikateh and Jallow Kunda, and in Kiang East district, 20 houses were destroyed in four villages namely, Bureng, Donkoroba, Dogeyel and Dingirai."

At the time of speaking to The Point yesterday, Mr Saidy and his regional disaster committee were distributing food and non-food items to the disaster victims.

Similarly, the regional disaster co-ordinator for Western Region, Serign Modou Joof, also confirmed that some 269 compounds in Western Region were affected by flood waters, representing a population of 2210 people in the region, by Sunday's and Monday's rainfall.

In the North Bank Region, disaster coordinator Pullo Joof said over 30 compounds were flooded in Barra town by the heavy rainfall, and that some more houses collapsed in the Upper Badibou and Sabah Sanjally districts.

Yesterday, according to Mr Joof, the regional disaster committee led by the regional Governor, Edwarr Seckan, distributed food and non-food items to the flood victims in Barra.

Mawdo A. Jallow, the Upper River Region regional disaster coordinator, also spoke to The Point about Sunday's and Monday's rainfall, which he said did not cause any havoc in his region.

At the time of speaking to Mr Jallow yesterday, his disaster team was distributing food and non-food items to 16 flood victims in URR, and he asserted that 61 flood victims had already benefited from earlier distribution exercises.