mbulelo smpofu
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, [email protected]
TORRENTIAL rains accompanied by strong winds wreaked havoc in several suburbs of Bulawayo, leaving scores of families homeless after their roofs were blown off.
The unexpected storm, which struck late Tuesday afternoon, caused widespread damage, flooding homes and uprooting trees.
The violent winds that swept through the city tore off roofs in Sizinda, Richmond, Harrisvale, and Entumbane suburbs, damaged property, and left families exposed to the elements. A church and a school had their roofs blown off.
In Sizinda suburb, 20 families at Sizinda Flats and two in Richmond and Harrisvale suburbs, are now grappling with the aftermath of the ferocious storm.
Ntabeni Primary School in Entumbane had two of its classroom blocks’ roofs ripped off by strong winds including the New Apostolic Church in Sizinda whose entire roof was completely blown off. The heavy downpour lasted for about three hours, inundating streets and overwhelming the city’s drainage systems.
The Bulawayo Fire Brigade swiftly attended the scenes, working through the better part of the night and until yesterday as they provided temporary coverage to the roofs using salvaged sheets.
Local Government director for Bulawayo, Mrs Tswagai Fikile Marovatsanga, who also heads the provincial Civil Protection Unit, said the Bulawayo Fire Brigade managed to live up to expectations and saved the day when they attended to all the affected homes including the school.
“The council fire brigade attended to the scenes and managed to provide overhead coverage to the affected areas. We are, however, facing a reality of dwindling resources and should we have a similar situation, we fear that we will face a big challenge in terms of rendering assistance,” she said.
Mrs Marovatsanga said they are seized with harnessing more resources.
Chief fire officer for Bulawayo, Mr Mhlangano Moyo said the Sizinda families are in urgent need of food, clothes, and blankets as most of their belongings including food were soaked in water.
He said the cost of the damages is estimated to be around ZWG200 000.
One of the victims in Sizinda where residents woke up to scenes of devastation, Gogo Eresia Machokovhingo, recounted the terrifying moments when her roof was blown off.
“It happened so quickly. One moment we were having supper, and the next, the wind was howling, and our roof was gone. Rain poured into the house, soaking everything and we lost all our foodstuff and also slept without blankets,” she said.
“We didn’t know what our fate would be going forward as you can see that the rains are still with us, we are however, grateful to the Fire Brigade for the temporary shelter.”
Another affected tenant at Sizinda Flats, Mr Trust Zabi said he had already used his resources to repair the roof of his flat.
When a Chronicle news crew arrived, builders were busy replacing the roof. “Replacing the roofing sheets including labour will cost me around US$250. I decided to use my means rather than waiting for the council to assist. I don’t know when these rains will stop,” said Mr Zabi.
He said he was yet to quantify the damage to some of his household property especially electrical gadgets such as the television set, radio, and stove that were exposed to rain when the roof was blown off.
The SADC Humanitarian and Emergency Operations Centre (Shoc) on December 31 issued a heavy rainfall advisory for the SADC region. Based on the advisory issued, a tropical storm, which is 3000km away from Zimbabwe was expected to bring heavy rainfall with some thunderstorms from the period of January 10 to 15.
The Bulawayo CPU committee is still faced with the dilemma of relocating Cowdray Park residents whose homes are still drenched in water since last week.
The committee had identified Cowdray Park Secondary and Tategulu Primary Schools as possible relocation sites but the challenge now is that schools have opened for the first term.
Meanwhile, in its situation report on rainfall-induced and drowning incidents across the country, the CPU national directorate has reported that two middle-aged men are marooned along the Runde River, near Citrus Plantation, Section 10, in Chiredzi Masvingo province with growing fears for their safety as the river’s water flow is rapidly increasing in intensity.
“The District Civil Protection committee is swiftly assembling a rescue team to respond to this emergency and ensure the safe evacuation of the stranded individuals,” reads the report.
It also reported that on January 11, Muponjane Primary School in Zvishavane, Midlands province was hit by a devastating storm that caused significant destruction to infrastructure. The disaster resulted in four classrooms losing their roofs entirely with the estimated costs of repairs being US$8 120 and the disaster has exacerbated the existing classroom shortages at the school.
According to CPU, 15 people have lost their lives since the start of the 2024/25 rainfall season
Of these deaths, three are in Masvingo, Mashonaland East and Mashonaland West provinces, two in Manicaland and Matabeleland North provinces respectively while Midlands and Matabeleland South recorded one each.
