Flood-prone areas on high alert as heavy storms forecast

FLOOD-prone communities have been urged to be on high alert as heavy rains coupled with hailstorms are expected throughout the country until Saturday with members of the public warned against crossing flooded rivers.

The Meteorological Service Department (MSD), in a statement, said heavy rains are expected in the northern parts of Manicaland, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central and Harare today with rains spreading across the country in the coming days.

Following the cautionary weather update, the Civil Protection Unit (CPU) has activated all its sub-national structures to deal with rain-related disasters. Most parts of the country had by yesterday started receiving heavy rains.

The MSD said low-lying areas such as Muzarabani and the Zambezi Valley among other areas were at a high risk of flooding. In the Matabeleland region, Tsholotsho and Binga have pockets that are always susceptible to flooding.

In Bulawayo, areas that include parts of Nkulumane, Nketa and Cowdray Park suburbs often experience flooding during heavy downpours.

An anticipated cloud band, said the weather forecaster, that brings along heavy rains landed in the country yesterday and the Matabeleland region received the heavier rains.

“The much-anticipated cloud band has fallen into Zimbabwe and this morning the western half of the country recorded some significant falls. The highest measured amounts of rainfall were at; Bulawayo Goetz Observatory 31mm, Binga 21mm, Lupane 15mm, Victoria Falls 14mm, Kariba 13mm and Joshua Nkomo International Airport 10mm. Meanwhile, the cloud band is sweeping across the country from the West to the East,” reads the statement.

“The western parts of the country should be affected first then by 30 December the whole country should have been affected. Localised heavy downpours with rainfall above 50mm in 24 hours are anticipated in some places with strong winds, lightning and hailstorms,” read the statement.

“All areas are expected to receive localised rainfall amounts of 50mm or more in 24 hours and flooding is probable in low-lying areas such as the Muzarabani, Save, and Zambezi valley

Members of the public have been strongly warned against crossing flooded rivers with the department saying people can be swept away by water above their ankles while a 30cm depth of flowing water can even sweep away large vehicles. The MSD urged the public to avoid being in fields, hilltops, tall trees, and bodies of water and remain indoors during thunderstorms.

The CPU, which handles disasters in the country, has activated all its sub-national structures to deal with rain-related eventualities.

CPU director Mr Nathan Nkomo said as part of his department’s preparations ahead of the pending rains, they have conducted campaign awareness and included traditional leaders.

“As per our tradition, we have activated all our sub-national structures and we have done our educational awareness campaigns. We usually say if you see your programme being adopted by traditional leaders then you would be satisfied.

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So we have communicated with the traditional leaders’ structures on issues governing disasters. We might not have given them adequate resources but it is very very critical information spreads in communities. It is our motto that disaster prevention begins with information and we have spread the information,” said Mr Nkomo.

He said in line with the weather alert all citizens should be prepared for any eventualities as MSD stated that the rains will be received countrywide.

Mr Nkomo said there is also a worrying trend of an increased frequency of lightning strikes.

“We are worried about the rate at which our people are being struck by lightning. It is taking a toll on our people. Something very confusing is that in the past we used to encourage them to be indoors but now they are being struck when they are indoors,” said Mr Nkomo.

He said in future they might be forced to even engage the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) to educate the public on the proper installation of lighting conductors and reduce loss of lives.

Mr Nkomo urged motorists to abide by the rules of the road and reduce road carnage.

“We also want to discourage them from crossing flooded rivers. This is particularly so for our people who are coming from outside the country. Some of them would have travelled from areas such as Cape Town, Johannesburg where they would have travelled 2 000km but because of impatience they would want to wait for just 80km from their destinations,” said Mr Nkomo.

He called on the public to respond to the distress that has come due to heavy downpours, with the Budiriro suburb in Harare being one of them.

Mr Nkomo said the public should not wait until the President declares a state of disaster before they start helping out.

He said those providing help should consider children’s foods and women’s sanitary wear as special areas that need resources.

“Let us not wait for His Excellency to declare a state of disaster for us to provide relief. We rarely talk about children’s food but there is a need to donate their food to provide for different groups of children. There is also an issue of personal hygiene which is also important. We need sanitary wear for women so I call on citizens to be responsive to their needs,” said Mr Nkomo.

He commended institutions such as Red Cross Zimbabwe, Higher Life Foundation and United Nations agencies for always being available to assist during disaster situations.

Meanwhile, Bulawayo acting chief fire officer Mr Linos Phiri said residents should not block the flow of water as this could cause houses to be flooded.

“We encourage residents to open weep holes. They should not restrict the flow of water as this may cause flooding. But so far as a city we have not recorded any flooding distress,” said Mr Phiri.

A weep hole is a passage for water to exit one’s yard and it is illegal for homeowners with precast walls not to open them. — @nqotshili