Violent rains leave trail of destruction in Cowdray Park

THE Bulawayo Fire Brigade attended to eight properties in Cowdray Park that were damaged and roofs blown away after heavy rains, which were accompanied by strong winds, pounded Bulawayo on Thursday leaving a trail of destruction with trees uprooted in some parts of the city.

Critical infrastructure such as electricity poles were damaged, leaving some residents in areas like Richmond and Mahatshula suburb without power.

In Cowdray Park some homes’ entire roofs were blown away and the walls of two houses collapsed. No one was injured, according to preliminary reports from the Bulawayo Fire Brigade.

“We attended to eight properties that were affected by a hailstorm that hit Cowdray Park on Thursday late afternoon. At some of the affected houses we used tarpaulin to provide temporal cover while the homeowners make arrangements to fix the damaged roofs,” Bulawayo chief fire officer, Mr Mhlangano Moyo, said.

“In some cases, fallen trees that fell during the heavy rains blocked roads and we were called to attend.

The most affected places were in the Esigodweni area in Cowdray Park. The situation is now under control. We would like to thank our partners in the CPU (Civil Protection Unit) for their invaluable support and assistance.”

Mr Moyo, however, cited poor workmanship in some of the affected houses.
“In some of the cases, the affected homes were poorly constructed and it’s evident that the structures are substandard,” he said.

“We encourage homeowners to hire competent builders to avoid falling victim to weather elements.”
Mrs Christina Siyafanana said she received a phone call from a worried neighbour telling her that the entire roof of her two-roomed house had been blown away.

“All the asbestos roofing sheets were blown away and broke into pieces. Some of the roof trusses damaged a neighbour’s home after they were blown away by strong winds,” said Mrs Siyafanana.

Mr Victor Dlamini said the rains damaged three asbestos roofing sheet and two solar panels.
He had already hired a roofing expert to repair the damage.

“Two solar panels that were mounted on the roof for back-up power were blown away and landed next door and they were badly damaged. Three asbestos sheets were also damaged. The rains were so heavy that a number of homes were damaged in this part of the suburb,” said Mr Dlamini.