News / Local
Noah's flood hit Bulawayo
31 Jan 2014 at 19:18hrs | Views
Unprecedented floods have swept Bulawayo, washing two vehicles off bridges and damaging property worth thousands of dollars.
A thunderstorm accompanied by a heavy downpour lashed the city relentlessly for almost 10 hours beginning midnight on Friday.
The Fire Brigade had to be called to rescue eight people who were trapped in two vehicles along Solusi road after the drivers attempted to cross the flooded Phekiwe River.
Rescue crews battled for about two hours to save the occupants, in blinding rain.
About 20 kilometres away, nearer the city centre, the rain wreaked more havoc.
It flowed into houses in Nkulumane12 at an area known as Kuma-14, parts of Cowdray Park and Gwabalanda.
Residents recounted tales of horror where they said they thought they would drown in their homes.
"I was trying to sleep on a mattress on the floor when the rain started falling. There was continuous rumbling of thunder and flashes of lightning that caused electricity to go off. Soon, I felt my blankets getting wet and I was horrified to see that water had entered the house. All around me the water reached just below my ankles," said Mthandazo Ngwenya (27).
They tied up the car to prevent it from being swept further away
He said he woke up his brothers and they started scooping water out of the house.
"The level of the water still kept rising until it reached our knees. We then started moving property and electrical gadgets to higher places to save it. We began fearing for our safety as the flood was looking more and more like that of the biblical Noah. We called the fire brigade and got the frightening response that the fire Truck could not access the suburb as it was blocked by water," said Ngwenya.
Most roads were impassable in Nkulumane in the morning as water continued to flow through the suburb.
Contacted for comment, police spokesperson for Bulawayo confirmed that two vehicles had been swept off two bridges along Solusi Road.
He warned people against attempting to cross flooded rivers saying they risked their lives.
Source - Byo24News
