Floods leave 30 families homeless

Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent

About 30 families in Nembudziya, Gokwe North District, were left counting losses after their houses and livestock were swept away by flash floods on Monday.

Midlands Acting Provincial Development Coordinator (PDC), Mr Fortune Mpungu yesterday said no casualties were reported.

A flood-prone area, Gokwe received a total of 185mm of rainfall, the highest in years.

“We have about 30 families in Gokwe North that were left homeless after floods swept through the area on Monday. Besides the homes that were submerged in water, we also have livestock and property that were swept away by the floods,” said Mr Mpungu who is also the Provincial Civil Protection Committee Acting Chairperson.

He said the CPU had already facilitated temporary shelter for the affected families.

“We have already, working hand in hand with the district CPU, organised tents for their temporary accommodation. The district CPU is also in the process of mobilising food for the affected families,” said Mr Mpungu.

He said the CPU had started evacuating families from low-lying areas to avoid further damage by the floods. “We have since advised families that are staying along Sengwa River who are also practising river bank cultivation to move to safe places. Most of these families abandon their homes to move to the river banks which they consider to have fertile soils and we have since started the process of moving them,” he said.

Mr Mpungu said the most affected areas were Sengwa, Chireya and Nenyunga.

The floods come at a time when the Meteorological Services Department (MSD) has warned heavy rainfall coupled with thunderstorms and a high possibility of flash flooding.

Meanwhile, six schools in Kwekwe district were destroyed by hailstorms.

Samambwa Primary School in Zhombe was totally destroyed.

Mr Mpungu said, following a Government directive for local authorities to renovate infrastructure destroyed by hailstorms, it was now up to Zibagwe Rural District Council to make sure that the school was reconstructed before schools open.

“The school was totally destroyed by the hailstorm. We have since instructed Zibagwe RDC to ensure that the school is reconstructed before schools open,” said Mr Mpungu.