Hailstorm leaves trail of destruction

Post Reporters
HAILSTORM which hit some parts of Manicaland Province last Thursday left a trail of destruction especially in Mutasa, Nyanga and Makoni districts respectively. The most affected areas were Mutasa Central, Nyanga and Rusape where several houses, schools and shops were damaged, while early planted maize crop was a complete write-off.

In Rusape, powerful wind swept across the town, ripping off roofs and knocking down electricity poles, blowing trees and fences. Hundreds of residents had to flee to safety. Much of the town was left without electricity.

Though no one was injured in the 20-minute blitz, debris of broken asbestos and shattered window panes was littered all over shopping malls, homes and businesses in Vengere, Mabvazuva, Magamba and the Central Business District.

The winds tore roofs off homes, felled trees that blocked roads and cutting off electricity in Vengere and Mabvazuva, plunging hundreds of residents into darkness.

Electricity was restored on Friday.
In Mabvazuva, the wind blew off the entire roof of a butchery belonging to Mr Farai Musuka.
Mr Musuka, who on Wednesday was still counting his losses, had this to say:
“The wind blew off the entire roof of my shop. I had 41 asbestos that were reduced to a heap of debris as a result. I had to fork out $2 000 to buy brand new IBM iron sheets,” said Mr Musuka.
At Mabvazuva Business Centre, the wind also destroyed a shop belonging to one Kanyuchi.

Mr Musuka’s workmate, Mr Eliot Gandi, who lives in the UVE section of Vengere, had 12 asbestos removed from his house.
In Castle Base, the wind blew off the entire roof of a house belonging to Mrs Bhedi and work was in progress to repair the damage.
In the UVE, the wind also destroyed part of the roof of Mr Maxwell Filimino’s house. Mr Filimino was making frantic efforts to repair the damaged roof.

“My little child, who had just returned from school, was in the house when the incident occurred. The fortunate thing is that he was not injured. Human life is far more important than the damaged roof because it can be repaired. It is not only my house that was destroyed, but several other houses close to ours were also destroyed,” explained Mr Filimino.

The wind also caused congestion in the town as vehicles struggled to navigate through.
“There was no electricity that evening as the wind had uprooted trees that in turn destroyed power lines forcing the interruption of power supply in the greater part of Vengere. Power supplies were restored the following afternoon. The wind was very powerful, and most residents who were caught unawares had to scurry for cover. What is worrisome though is the fact that we ended up receiving only some drops of rain,” explained Mr Samuel Muchemwa, a resident of Vengere.

When The Manica Post visited Nyanga last Friday, most villagers were still to come to terms with the disaster which struck when they least expected.

Layers of ice could be seen in some areas hours after the hailstorm had stopped although the sun was scorching.
A villager, Mr Tapiwa Hondo (47) of Ward 14, Nyamhanda, said he had never witnessed a hailstorm of that magnitude before.

“I was born and bred here, but what we experienced last night was something else. The rains started around 8pm, but the damage left behind is just too much. Most houses had their rooftops damaged. If it had rained during the day, someone would have lost his or her life, but thank God most people were indoors when it started raining.

“I was afraid that my roof would collapse and had to wake up and check whether my children were safe. We could not sleep fearing for the worst, but thank God no one was injured. What I know is that all roofs that were not properly secured were blown off, while some of them were badly damaged. As we speak, people are busy attending to the damages. We least expected this disaster especially this time of the year when we expect light rains. If it were mid-summer season we could have understood; not well before the onset of the rain season,” said Mr Hondo.

His colleague, Mr Charles Mabhodhlela (49), concurred and said they were in the process of quantifying their total loss.
“Besides having our homes damaged, we lost almost every crop we had planted in our gardens. Some of us had a young maize and potato crop, but they are a complete write-off now. I was shocked when I visited my garden today only to be greeted with a virtually empty garden.

Everything was completely destroyed and there is no option but to replant. The major challenge is getting the inputs to replant. Money is hard to come by and it will surely affect our operations this year as a cloud of uncertainty has since engulfed this area. Everyone is afraid of losing out if the unfavourable weather condition persists this summer season.

“What came across my mind when it started raining was that a tsunami had visited us. It rained for almost two hours, but every second we thought our end was nigh. I had to run outside and take my small chicks from the fowl run and place them in my bedroom because I was afraid that I would lose all of them,” said Mr Mabhodhlela.

Both villagers concurred that it was too early to start planting.
“We are now intensifying land preparations. It will be ill-advised for one to start planting now. Usually our summer farming season starts around October 25 or early November, so for one to plant now it will be a disaster,” said Mr Hondo.

In Nyanga South, some of the affected schools include Mapako High School, Magamba and Magarati schools.
In an interview after officiating at Mapako High School speech and prize-giving day, Member of National Assembly for Nyanga South as well as the Deputy Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Cde Supa Mandiwanzira, appealed to well-wishers to donate towards mitigation against the damage caused by the hailstorm.

“Disaster struck here yesterday (Thursday) night and therefore I am appealing to all well-wishers to donate in cash or in kind. I am also appealing to Nyanga sons and daughters to think about their roots and come to the rescue of their kinsmen in their hour of need.

“We should unite as people from Nyanga and show the world that we care for our loved ones especially in the event of a disaster of this magnitude. School children are the most affected and we should mobilise resources as soon as possible so that all damaged classroom blocks are repaired before we receive more rains in the near future,” said Cde Mandiwanzira.

In Mutasa Central area, the area around Magadzire Primary School was one of the most affected as some villagers were left with no shelter.
Some had their fowl runs destroyed and most crops were also damaged.