Chronicle Editor
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
Eight family members, among them four children, have been forced to share one room after lightning struck their huts at a homestead in Siyoka area, Ward 12, some 100km west of Beitbridge town.
Property worth thousands of dollars, including clothes and food, went up in smoke early on Sunday morning during a thunderstorm. Beitbridge District’s Civil Protection Unit Chairperson (CPU), Mrs Sikhangazile Mafu who is also the District Development Coordinator (DDC), said they had sent a local disaster management team to assess the damage on the ground.
Plans are underway for them to use tents for shelter as building materials are being mobilised to build a house for the family.
Mrs Mafu said the incident occurred around 1AM.
“We have a team led by Ward 12 councillor on the ground to assess the damage and the needs of the family and to also check if there are more homesteads that were affected by the same storm in Siyoka area,” she said.
Mrs Mafu said they had started mobilising food, blankets, clothes, sanitary wear, pots, soap and building materials among other things for the family to build another house.
derick.khumalo