The ManicaPost
Samuel Kadungure Senior Reporter
THE Manica Post driver Gilbert Maganga (47), was last Friday caught in the cobweb of Cyclone Idai and counts himself lucky that he escaped unhurt despite being marooned for four days.
Maganga, who only made it to Mutare on Tuesday, much to the excitement of workmates and family members, poured out his heart about the devastating phenomenon.
The slim pencil driver attributed his escape to the grace of God, and was at pains to chronicle scary accounts.
He watched helplessly as people, buildings, bridges, livestock decimated by the fury of Cyclone Idai.
He also had an opportunity to visit the hardest hit area of Ngagu, where he said that before the cyclone ripped and destroyed the township apart, some rock boulders were falling off the mountain top into the settlement followed by some porridge-like mud, conjointly decimating and enveloping the entire township and unsuspecting residents.
“I left Chipinge around 1pm going to Chimanimani. There were heavy rains and strong winds. When I was between Sliverstream and Skyline, I was missed by two huge gumtrees that fell as a result of the strong winds and barricaded the road.
The third gum tree fell just ahead of me and barricaded the road, and was lucky that some local villagers rushed to the scene upon hearing its crashing sound, and helped to clear the road. At Skyline, rock boulders were falling off mountain tops, landing on to the road, disrupting free movement of traffic,” he said.
“I proceeded to Chimanimani and then Ngangu. It was raining cats and dogs and my delivery truck started developing a mechanical fault. I forced it to get to Charter and it was already dark. I was later approached by workers from Peacock Sawmill, which is between Charter and Machongwe, who as we talked, revealed that the local bridge had been blocked by some debris (logs and rock boulders)forcing the river to burst its banks and sweep it away. Two bodies, from villages upstream, were found dumped on the banks of the river.
“The adjacent Nyahode river was flooded, giving a vicious sight. I proceeded to Ngangu by foot to get food. I passed through the Roman Catholic Church, where 22 bodies had been kept. I met some of the survivors whose accounts were horrific and revealing. I gathered that there were some rock boulders that rolled off from the mountain followed by some mud, which swept away everything along their path. The boulders landed on, and blocked the Chimanimani highway,” he said.
He continued: “What I saw was terrible and I cannot explain it explicitly. It was horrible in Ngangu, and all I can say is I strongly believe that there are lots of people that were buried under rocks and mud. Yes, some people survived with injuries, but a good many were not so lucky. Livestock was also swept away while I watched. The mountain has no proper water channel because the settlement was not properly planned and sited. People built their structures randomly without leaving a leeway for natural flowing water. The houses were crowded at one place, making it a fertile ground for the disaster. Those people might insist on going back there, but I don’t think its proper since no one knows what the future holds,” he said.
“It was so scaring to see people and animals dying and homes submerged and destroyed like that. The best I could do was to take pictures as the events unfolded. I have never seen anything like that in my life. Imagine rocks falling from the mountain wreaking its way through homesteads. The Chimanimani-Ngangu road was littered with rocks. Some areas had landslides from both sides falling onto the road, making it un-trafficable. The Skyline-Mutare road is not trafficable as several bridges were washed away,” he said.
