Rains expose Zimbabwe's weak disaster response

The current spell of heavy rains have woefully exposed the government's shoddy disaster preparedness, rights groups have said.

The groups claim that early warning systems have failed and authorities have failed to mobilise relief, or prepare themselves for likely water disasters if the rivers swell.

The groups also claim that the government seems to have learnt nothing from the Tokwe-Mukosi disaster.

However, Lameck Betera, principal administration officer at the CPU, said that the CPU was mobilising other organisations in an inter-agency rapid assessment of the floods to ascertain the extent of the damage caused.