News / National
Rains leave trail of destruction
12 Dec 2023 at 00:53hrs | Views
TORRENTIAL rains accompanied by strong winds left a trail of destruction in Dete, Hwange District in Matebeleland North and Masvingo where several homes had their roofs blown off and other property damaged.
Just like many other African countries, Zimbabwe has been experiencing very high temperatures and this year has been noted as the hottest in global history, as the world continues to suffer adverse effects of global warming.
High temperatures, floods, storms, and some human-induced disasters are some of the disasters impacting negatively globally, with developing countries being the worst affected despite contributing only less than five percent to global warming.
Weather experts have predicted that most parts of Zimbabwe and Sadc will receive normal to below-normal rainfall due to the El Nino effects this season.
According to the rainfall forecast, Matebeleland South, parts of the Midlands and parts of Matebeleland North provinces are expected to receive below-normal-to-normal rainfall.
Normal rainfall with a bias towards below-normal rainfall is highly likely for the remaining provinces for the sub-season October-November-December 2023.
Some residents of Mtuya and Soweto suburbs in Dete were left homeless after roofs of their homes were blown off.
St Francis Roman Catholic School had two classroom blocks damaged and roofs blown away resulting in stationery being soaked and furniture damaged.
One of the affected residents, Mrs Itai Moyo from Soweto said she lost property worth thousands of dollars.
She managed to escape unhurt together with her family.
"I was in the house with my family when the asbestos roofing sheets were blown off following rains which were preceded by strong winds. No one was injured but all the property was soaked in water," said Mrs Moyo.
"The property is worth thousands of dollars because we recently bought couches and king-size bed and a TV set, which were all damaged."
Local councillor, Stanley Torima, said the destruction left several residents stranded.
"There was a lot of destruction and many houses had their roofs blown off including a local school where furniture was damaged and books soaked in water. Some victims had to be accommodated by their neighbours," he said.
Hwange District Development Coordinator Mr Simon Muleya said the District Civil Protection Unit will assess the extent of the damage.
In Masvingo, residents of Runyararo West suburb whose homes were built on a wetland were affected by the heavy rains yesterday and were counting their losses owing to flash floods that resulted in water getting inside their houses and damaging property.
A Chronicle news crew visited the suburb and observed that just-below-knee-level ponds had formed in some yards.
Water flowed freely through the houses, damaging furniture and electrical gadgets. Some children could be seen playing happily in a pool of water oblivious of the dangers of contracting water-borne diseases.
Some residents scampered to remove their household property from their houses as water gushed through.
Residents believe the major cause of extensive floods is the establishment of the new residential area, Victoria Range, in 2017, which has been rapidly expanding over the years.
They suspect that Victoria Range brought about the closure of a dam which contained water and prevented more of it from overflowing into houses.
"I think the engineers' surveys were done well, but the new residential area, Victoria Range, is the problem," said a resident who declined to be named.
"Siltation and water reeds have resulted in blockage of the waterway causing water to overflow and spill into nearby houses. The area's deposition is forcing water that should be flowing down the channels to flow into homes that are located along the riverbanks."
Another resident, Mr Tafirei Nyamande said: "Initially, seven houses were to be relocated to Rujeko D, as designated by the city council, but nothing has been done so far. We continue to lose property each year.
The news crew also observed that some houses had their window panes broken and precast walls destroyed. Maize crops in open spaces were also destroyed.
Speaking at the COP28 in Dubai recently, Department of Civil Protection chief director Mr Nathan Nkomo said there was a strong link between environmental hazards and disaster risk reduction hence Government had integrated all systems into a command centre to monitor and manage disasters countrywide.
He implored every citizen to jealously protect the environment to prevent disasters.
"Civil Protection is centred on the protection of the population and environment and managing disasters. Some institutions, including an enhanced Cabinet committee, have been put in place to manage disasters and ensure preparedness," said Mr Nkomo.
"We are now integrating all the systems into a command centre and we have established a national disaster management centre which we will use as a tool to coordinate all sources of emerging challenges in different sectors of the economy and society."
Just like many other African countries, Zimbabwe has been experiencing very high temperatures and this year has been noted as the hottest in global history, as the world continues to suffer adverse effects of global warming.
High temperatures, floods, storms, and some human-induced disasters are some of the disasters impacting negatively globally, with developing countries being the worst affected despite contributing only less than five percent to global warming.
Weather experts have predicted that most parts of Zimbabwe and Sadc will receive normal to below-normal rainfall due to the El Nino effects this season.
According to the rainfall forecast, Matebeleland South, parts of the Midlands and parts of Matebeleland North provinces are expected to receive below-normal-to-normal rainfall.
Normal rainfall with a bias towards below-normal rainfall is highly likely for the remaining provinces for the sub-season October-November-December 2023.
Some residents of Mtuya and Soweto suburbs in Dete were left homeless after roofs of their homes were blown off.
St Francis Roman Catholic School had two classroom blocks damaged and roofs blown away resulting in stationery being soaked and furniture damaged.
One of the affected residents, Mrs Itai Moyo from Soweto said she lost property worth thousands of dollars.
She managed to escape unhurt together with her family.
"I was in the house with my family when the asbestos roofing sheets were blown off following rains which were preceded by strong winds. No one was injured but all the property was soaked in water," said Mrs Moyo.
"The property is worth thousands of dollars because we recently bought couches and king-size bed and a TV set, which were all damaged."
Local councillor, Stanley Torima, said the destruction left several residents stranded.
"There was a lot of destruction and many houses had their roofs blown off including a local school where furniture was damaged and books soaked in water. Some victims had to be accommodated by their neighbours," he said.
Hwange District Development Coordinator Mr Simon Muleya said the District Civil Protection Unit will assess the extent of the damage.
In Masvingo, residents of Runyararo West suburb whose homes were built on a wetland were affected by the heavy rains yesterday and were counting their losses owing to flash floods that resulted in water getting inside their houses and damaging property.
A Chronicle news crew visited the suburb and observed that just-below-knee-level ponds had formed in some yards.
Water flowed freely through the houses, damaging furniture and electrical gadgets. Some children could be seen playing happily in a pool of water oblivious of the dangers of contracting water-borne diseases.
Some residents scampered to remove their household property from their houses as water gushed through.
Residents believe the major cause of extensive floods is the establishment of the new residential area, Victoria Range, in 2017, which has been rapidly expanding over the years.
They suspect that Victoria Range brought about the closure of a dam which contained water and prevented more of it from overflowing into houses.
"I think the engineers' surveys were done well, but the new residential area, Victoria Range, is the problem," said a resident who declined to be named.
"Siltation and water reeds have resulted in blockage of the waterway causing water to overflow and spill into nearby houses. The area's deposition is forcing water that should be flowing down the channels to flow into homes that are located along the riverbanks."
Another resident, Mr Tafirei Nyamande said: "Initially, seven houses were to be relocated to Rujeko D, as designated by the city council, but nothing has been done so far. We continue to lose property each year.
The news crew also observed that some houses had their window panes broken and precast walls destroyed. Maize crops in open spaces were also destroyed.
Speaking at the COP28 in Dubai recently, Department of Civil Protection chief director Mr Nathan Nkomo said there was a strong link between environmental hazards and disaster risk reduction hence Government had integrated all systems into a command centre to monitor and manage disasters countrywide.
He implored every citizen to jealously protect the environment to prevent disasters.
"Civil Protection is centred on the protection of the population and environment and managing disasters. Some institutions, including an enhanced Cabinet committee, have been put in place to manage disasters and ensure preparedness," said Mr Nkomo.
"We are now integrating all the systems into a command centre and we have established a national disaster management centre which we will use as a tool to coordinate all sources of emerging challenges in different sectors of the economy and society."
Source - The Chronicle
