Hailstorm leaves a trail of distraction in Mtshabezi

SCORES of homesteads were destroyed and livestock washed away when a powerful hailstorm pounded Kumbudzi Village in Mtshabezi recently.
Villagers said the storm that hit the village recently, lasted for about five hours.
Four goats and a cow reportedly drowned and scores of other domestic animals went missing.
Miraculously, there were no reports of people who were injured or killed.Villagers who have been living in Kumbudzi for more than 50 years said they had never experienced such a powerful storm.
When a newscrew visited the area on Friday last week, villagers had formed teams and were helping each other to rebuild destroyed homesteads.
"I have never experienced anything like what we saw that day. It was as if the earth was opening up. The corrugated iron roofing sheets of my house were blown off. We found most of the sheets on top of trees about 500 metres from the homestead the following day," said Mrs Maria Donga (64), who has been living in the area since 1963.
She said it started as light showers  and within minutes it was heavy storm.
"There were strong winds that uprooted some trees and the rains were accompaniedn with hail that hit  the roof, making a frightening sound. First, one sheet was blown off and before we could react, the rest of the roof followed. We had to seek refuge in the kitchen which is thatched, " said Mrs Donga.
She said the rain destroyed Christmas groceries, furniture and solar panels that were on the roof of the house.
Another villager, Mr Moses Mandeya (71) said the rain destroyed his promising maize crop.
"Those of us who planted early lost everything. Hail  flattened everything."I have never witnessed such a destructive storm. We feared for our lives and we heard that some of our neighbours lost their livestock.
"We heard that about four goats were found floating in the catchment area near Mtshabezi Dam, while a cow died after its horns were caught in a tree near the same spot. I lost all my chicken and two of my goats are still missing," said Mr Mandeya.
Mr Zikhetheleni Moyo (42) said some of the blocks of ice melted two days after the storm.
"The day after the storm, there was cold water that reached above our ankles in most parts of the village," said Mr Moyo.
He pointed at some huge trees that had been uprooted and some that were drying up, saying they were destroyed by the storm.
A number of villagers said they believed a mermaid at Mtshabezi Dam caused the storm in protest at the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (Zinwa), attempting to pump water from the dam without performing appeasement rites.
"We had a similar, though not so powerful storm in 2007. It happened at the time Zinwa started working on Mtshabezi in earnest. It has happened again.
"These people must be careful because they may cause famine and death in the land by ignoring the advice of elders," said Ms Mavis Moyo (88).
Early this month, some people suggested that performing traditional rites at Mtshabezi Dam to overcome "inexplicable" problems that were preventing the pumping of water from the dam to Bulawayo could solve the problem.