Mugabe ally's family house hit by floods

MINISTER of Lands and Rural Resettlement Douglas Mombeshora's family escaped raging floods by rushing to upper rooms at their leafy home in Borrowdale Brooke on Wednesday.

The floods are said to have affected almost 70 families.

The floods, which swept across Borrowdale Brooke, destroyed precast walls, forcing gates and doors open and leaving some trees uprooted.

Domestic workers were forced to abandon their damaged cottages as they spent the whole night outside after finding refuge at higher places.

"I used to read the story of Biblical Noah floods and viewing videos of floods affecting people, today my family abandoned their bedrooms to take refuge at the upper rooms," said Minister Mombeshora.

"Local authorities need more planning than what they are currently doing and I learnt that we never planned for the extremes of weather and it is a lesson to us.

"I feel sorry for other families down the road where the floods were heading to, as it passed through my house opening every door.

"Rumbling of drums, falling of precast walls and moving of water bodies left us all under God's mercy as the water was rising to reach window levels, mvura yanaya usiku zvinotyisa kuno.

"Hatina kurara, zvinhu hazvina kundimirira mushe nemhuri midziyo yose yaparadzwa. I cannot count the cost now but all furniture, electrical goods and everything outside the house including drums, carpets were placed in various houses as the water forced doors to open.

"We are still to open other rooms where some of the property including blankets were displaced madrums angu ndano manhonga arasirwa zasi uko kwevamwewo.

"I have actually realised that there are areas where construction of houses must be prohibited and this is one of the areas, we built houses in a valley and these areas are the ones that are too expensive.

"Water was making its way from the hills down into the valley, leaving all the ground floor rooms soaked in water, carpets, fridges and tables were turned down and I heard a noise of falling of precast walls here and that of my neighbour.

"His tennis court was not spared and trees were thrown onto the road.

"For the past 10 years I never experienced such a disaster in this area and I want to believe that poor drainage system contributed much to the flowing of water," said Minister Mombeshora as he was taking H-Metro around the house to see the damaged property.

Crowhill Road was kept busy as relatives and friends parked their vehicles visiting the affected families and the cutting down of trees to open roads was the order of yesterday.

One of the domestic workers only identified as Baba Nomsa told H-Metro that he was accommodated in one of the upper rooms while his friend was fleeing to the hill top.

"For almost three hours, rain poured heavily and the falling down of precast walls forced many to flee to the hill tops since water was rising to window levels with all blankets soaked," said Baba Nomsa.

"The cottage was destroyed and my boss asked me to retire to bed in one of his upper rooms, we were all praying for the rain to stop.

"One of my friends who stays a few houses away from here rushed to the hill top since their house has no upper rooms," he said.