30 die in rain related incidents since January

THIRTY people were killed in rain related incidents in January and more than 6 000 had their livelihoods affected by the heavy rains that pounded Zimbabwe, the Department of Civil Protection (DCP) has revealed.

According to DCP findings which were published in the United Nation's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs' (OCHA) Humanitarian Bulletin on Zimbabwe, 30 people died through drowning, collapsing structures and lightning.

About 6 000 lost properties, food reserves and domestic animals. Bridges and roads were substantially damaged in some areas.

The Minister of Rural and Urban Development, Ignatius Chombo, was not available for comment but he is on record as saying the Civil Protection Unit (CPU), local authorities and the District Development Fund will rebuild the damaged bridges and roads.

World Food Programme (WFP) official, Miss Victoria Cavanagh, said the trail of destruction that the floods had left had seen the number of people who receive food assistance rising from 1,2 million to 1,4 million.

"There are many reasons why the number has increased but it's largely due to the floods that destroyed crops and swept people's livestock. It's unfortunate that some people lost their lives but we are relieved that the number was not what we expected. We are helping the survivors and we are working with the Government. WFP is complementing the Government grain with cooking oil and pulses as well as providing the logistics support to transport the grain from surplus to deficit areas," she said.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) confirmed that 6 880 individuals needed emergency assistance. So far 3 380 have been assisted.

The assistance given varied depending on the needs of the affected, it included distribution of non-food items and blankets to 3 095 individuals and emergency shelter to 1 970 people.

About 2 805 people still require emergency assistance in the form of non-food items, water, sanitation and hygiene strategies and food. These individuals are in Beitbridge, Chiredzi, Tsholotsho and Nyanga districts. The plan was to have these assisted in February.

The figure of the 30 people who died and the more than 6 000 that had their livelihoods affected by heavy rains was reached after the humanitarian community and DCP partnered to conduct assessments of the trail of destruction that the rains had left.

Providing food assistance to affected communities had proved difficult as the heavy rains, coupled with flash floods, affected food distribution in some districts. The floods damaged infrastructure such as roads and bridges, making some areas inaccessible.

In some areas trucks that were delivering humanitarian assistance got stuck in the mud while in some areas roads became impassable. Deliveries were delayed as transporters sought alternative and often longer routes. In some areas organisations giving humanitarian assistance were forced to move their distribution points, compelling people to travel long distances to access food assistance. The worst affected areas included Beitbridge, Centenary, Chipinge, Chiredzi and Guruve. The heavy rains also resulted in delayed dispatches of cereals from the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) district depots as the outside storage facilities made it impossible to load when it was raining.

The DCP and OCHA have warned that floods could return and inflict more damage on the affected communities as the heavy rains in upstream neighbouring countries such as Angola and Namibia could result in higher water levels in the Zambezi River. The higher water levels in the Zambezi River mean there are risks of major water backflows in tributary rivers failing to discharge their water. This water could overflow causing floods.

OCHA and its partners in consultation with the DCP are establishing multi-sector field teams to support provinces and districts in setting up early warning systems. Flood prone populations that live along rivers are being taught how to react in flood situations.