By Saio Marrah
A windstorm which swept through the town of Zimmi in the Pujehun district around 2am on Thursday 26th January has caused widespread damage to buildings including schools.
A Ward Councillor Abdul Karim Fofana explained to Politico that torrential rains accompanied by heavy winds destroyed several learning structures including the only senior secondary school that serves other towns and villages.
Roofs on houses were blown away and trees uprooted.
No part of the town went unscathed according to Fofana, who said until now they’ve never experienced such a level of devastation. He said trees cut down to make way for the electrification of the town could have exposed buildings to further vulnerability.
One of the affected people is the Chairman of Police Partnership Board of Mano River Division, Foday H. Kanneh, said he had about 25 family members living with him in the three houses that had their roofs smashed.
Kanneh said such was the ferocity of the storm that he considered it a ‘hurricane’ as he had experienced in Europe.
“It was such that you can’t believe it. If we are to put it on a scale I could say it will run up to 40 to 50 miles per hour. It was too dangerous. At the same time it was raining so much so that you cannot see a man from five yards,” he said.
Kanneh said roofs from houses were flying all over the place, some well over two miles, and it was frightening.
Iye Bangura, a petty trader selling cosmetics in Zimmi town, also said her four bedroom house was unroofed by the storm.
Ms Bangura, is pleading for assistance, saying they’ve been left without shelter and are suffering.
Politico contacted the Communication Person for National Disaster Management Agency, Mohamed L. Bah, who said they are aware of the incident but could not give the exact number of affected persons or the scale of destruction. He said they were still gathering information.
Copyright © 2023 Politico Online (27/01/23)
