QACHA’S NEK – A man slipped and drowned in a pit latrine full of rain water in Ha-Sekake, Qacha’s Nek, last week.
A family member, Sello Mosothoane, said the death of his brother had left the family devastated.
“It was on Tuesday night when I got a call that my brother could not be found. I went there that same night,” Sello said.
He said the toilet was full of water because of too much rain.
He said when they tried to drain the water from the pit latrine, they saw his brother’s hand protruding from the flooded latrine.
In a separate incident, a man was washed away by the raging Senqu River while crossing from Ha-Sekake to Qabane.
He was with four other people who were returning from an initiation graduation party. While crossing the river, their small capsized.
In another incident, a man who was also trying to cross the Senqu River on horseback was also swept away by the river.
Witnesses said the horse was hit by a big stone that was being rolled by the currents and it fell in the water.
The man also fell in the water and was washed away.
The Red Cross Society is helping families that collectively tasted the wrath of nature as heavy rains washed away houses and crops in the fields.
In response to a flood emergency that occurred in three districts of Leribe, Quthing and Mohale’s Hoek in January this year that affected 72 people from 21 households, the Lesotho Red Cross
Society handed over mattresses, blankets, food parcels, and dignity kits to the victims.
The President of the LRCS, Hareteke Nkhetše, said the main purpose of LRCS is to assist the community where disasters occur so that people get back to their normal lives as they did before the disaster.
He said this in Quthing, Sixhondo, where 22 beneficiaries from seven households were affected by the floods.
“Please note that there are kind-hearted people inside and outside Lesotho who ensure that the Society performs its humanitarian role smoothly,” Nkhets’e said.
He said this is done through the donation boxes that are seen in different shops.
He urged the community of Sixhondo to donate whatever they have into the donation boxes so that the Society can keep on helping people.
The Disaster Management Authority (DMA) officer in Quthing district, Tšepang Maama, said they were at Sixhondo last month to guide the community on how to take care of themselves during these heavy rains.
Unfortunately, the following day the disaster hit.
Two weeks ago floods also wreaked havoc in Matukeng, Leribe, and killed livestock. The floods also washed away food kept in stores, leaving villagers with nothing.
In some families house furniture was destroyed while in some clothes were washed away.
Thooe Ramolibeli & Pusetso Sehlabaka