Zimbabwe floods threat recedes

There will be no further flooding expected in Zimbabwe, with the rains having receded as the rainy season approaches its end, the Meteorological Services Department (MSD) said yesterday.MSD senior forecaster Mr Tich Zinyemba told The Herald that rains had cooled off throughout the country.

"We are just expecting some showers, not necessarily heavy rains that may cause flooding at this time of the year," he said.

Zimbabwe was, in recent weeks, hit by severe floods attributed to Tropical Depression Dineo, which mostly affected the southern, western and eastern districts.

The floods caused a humanitarian crisis after 246 people were killed and thousands more left injured and homeless.

At least 74 schools and five health institutions were damaged and 70 dams breached.

President Mugabe declared the floods a state of disaster, paving way for an international appeal for assistance, which led to donor agencies visiting the affected areas to assess the extent of the damage for possible help.

The Zimbabwe National Water Authority (zinwa) yesterday said most of Zimbabwe's dams were already full and spilling, with the national dam level average standing at 78,1 percent.

zinwa corporate communications and marketing manager Mrs Marjorie Munyonga said most of the dams supplying the country's major cities and towns held enough water to take them to the next rainy season.

"All those wishing to use water from zinwa-managed dams should kick-start the process of renewing or obtaining new water abstraction agreements as required by the law," she said.

"Such users should approach their respective catchment offices for assistance. In the upcoming water year (which starts on April 1), zinwa will not reserve water allocations for users without agreements."