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Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
A STORM hit parts of Binga on Tuesday afternoon destroying roofs at Siabuwa Clinic, Siabuwa Primary School and a nearby business centre.
The nursing staff cottages, waiting mothers’ shelter and administration blocks at Siabuwa Clinic had all their roofs blown off by strong winds that uprooted some electricity poles.
The strong winds also damaged roofs at a nearby homestead and shopping centre.
At Siabuwa Primary School, a headmaster’s house and other teachers’ cottages were damaged leaving teachers and nurses without accommodation.
There were no injuries or fatalities.
If the clinic is not urgently repaired, villagers from Kalungwizi, Sinampande and Sinabusenga wards will be forced to walk for more than 30km to the nearest clinic or travel for about 100km to Binga Centre for health services, which will be expensive for them.
Siabuwa Clinic is used as a referral health centre for the remote Chunga area.
The Binga District Civil Protection Unit (CPU) team visited the clinic on Tuesday to assess the extent of damage.
Binga District Development Co-ordinator (DDC) Mr Farai Marinyane who chairs the local CPU said there is an urgent need to address the situation.
“We got the message and visited the place with a CPU team and what we saw on the ground is that a hailstorm hit and destroyed nurses’ cottages, waiting mothers’ shelter, administration block and also a nearby house and shopping centre.
“If it rains the hospital will not be usable.
There is an urgent need to renovate the structures and we have sent an SOS to Government and some of the development partners for intervention,” said Mr Marinyane.
Chief Siabuwa said members of the community will be stranded with no access to health services if the hospital is not rehabilitated speedily.
“It happened yesterday (Tuesday) and there was massive destruction.
The clinic services Kalungwizi ward, Sinampande and Sinabusenga and is also used as a referral for Chunga.
“Siabuwa Clinic is a big health facility which was meant to be a hospital and its absence will mean that people will have to walk about 32km to Sinansengwe Clinic as there is no transport between the two places or fork out more on transport going to Binga Hospital which is 100km away.
“It is our wish that it gets repaired in time and we appeal to well-wishers to help,” said Chief Siabuwa.
Meanwhile, Government has made significant progress in constructing houses for villagers in Nsungwaale also in Binga whose homesteads were destroyed by floods last year.
Mr Marinyane said 17 houses have been built while work is underway to start constructing the other batch.
More than 30 families were left homeless when flash floods hit the area and the victims have been living in makeshift accommodation.—@ncubeleon
Online Reporter