Rains leave trail of destruction in Zimbabwe

A SIX-year-old lost his life while infrastructure that includes bridges, roads, houses and electricity poles were swept away due to incessant rains that pounded most parts of the country during the week.

This has prompted the Department of Civil Protection to put in place systems, including setting up of evacuation centres, to ensure there are no further losses of life, as well as to cushion flood victims.

Some residential structures have been rendered inhabitable by the floods, leaving many families homeless and stranded.

The six-year-old girl was swept away last week only to be found dead, making her the only recorded loss of life during this incessant rainfall period.

Yesterday a Honda Fit vehicle was swept away at Mutange Bridge in Gokwe with investigations underway to locate the vehicle as well as ascertain the number of people that were in the car.

Sesame bridge which links Gokwe North and South was also destroyed by the incessant rains.

As of Thursday, 59 households in Harare's Budiriro 5B Extension and the paddocks area of Kuwadzana had been affected by the flash flooding along the Marimba River.

Since the onset of the rain season sixty-two people have died countrywide while 28 have been injured.

More than 1 529 families were affected countrywide,98 schools and 11 clinics were also damaged.

Director of the Department of Civil Protection, Mr Nathan Nkomo assured the nation that mitigatory measures are being employed to deal with any eventualities.

He said although adequate systems and planning had been put in place, it was difficult to premeditate the ferocity of natural phenomena before they happen. The department's subnational structure has since been directed not to set up evacuation centres in schools as this could disrupt learning when schools open in a fortnight time.

"We are prepared but remember we are dealing with a natural phenomenon whose magnitude changes every day and currently, as you look at the forecast, we are chasing a moving target. Today you have 10 people in the camps and tomorrow 20, so it shows that the problem is growing by the day," he said.

Mr Nkomo said reports were currently being consolidated to ascertain the severity of the floods countrywide.

"These rains' coverage is countrywide. We are still collecting reports from the various centres and, but the major highlights I am sure you have seen is what is happening in Chitungwiza on social media platforms," he said.

Mr Nkomo said the flooding of houses was mainly caused by the building of houses on wetlands, making them prone to being swept away.

Evacuation camps have since been set up in Budiriro and Kuwadzana where a number of families lost their houses, food, furniture, clothing and utensils among other things to the floods.

"With the rains sometimes we can say we are prepared because we did our preparedness planning but the scenarios change and you know water has got a better memory than a human being, it cannot easily change its course, that is why people whose houses were built on wetlands are now affected by the floods.

"I am sure you are already aware that we have people in some camps in Harare, Budiriro, and Kuwadzana. All these are the results of people who settled illegally in wetlands and river line basins and for other traditional areas like Gokwe it's known that during the rainfall season they are flood-prone areas.

"What is happening shouldn't surprise us, but what is painful is the destruction of critical infrastructure, especially the roads and bridges," he said.

Stakeholders, said Mr Nkomo, should work together in ensuring that the floods are decisively dealt with.

He also implored the general citizenry to take precautions and be responsible at this time.

"That is of a serious nature, and it requires immediate intervention from all stakeholders. When your forecast says the location is countrywide it means every individual has the responsibility to protect himself or herself unlike in the past where we used to have localised forecasts," said Mr Nkomo.