By Vincent Ogo
The rainy season is supposed to be welcomed with joy, as it ushers in a new planting season. It makes it possible for crops to grow, guaranteeing food for everyone, as well as income for farmers. However, the season could also be characterised by freak weather, which is beyond human control.
That was exactly what happened on the night of Wednesday 7th July 2021 when a windstorm hit certain parts of The Gambia, destroying scores of houses, claiming at least 10 lives and displacing more than 1,500 people.
One of the victims, Amadou Marong, who was taken in by a neighbour after the winds carried off the sheet-metal roofing that protected him from the rain, sorrowed over his losses: He said: “The wind destroyed the roof of my house and my situation is devastated because of lack of finance.”
A journalist, Musa Ndow, was also a victim of the perishing storm. According to him, the heavy windstorm wrecked havoc on his family house in Toniataba.
“As we speak the whole family is without shelter because the three main buildings all collapsed leaving half of my family hospitalised including my mother. Meanwhile, our neighbors are providing shelter for my family. All of their belongings including foodstuff all perished in the rains after the heavy windstorm,” he lamented, while appealing for support from the authorities and good Samaritans.
Musa can be contacted through the following numbers: +220 3660149/ +220 7660686
