The ManicaPost
CYCLONE Idai hit Chimanimani, Chipinge and parts of Masvingo Province on the evening of March 15th, 2019 and caused massive flooding and landslides, thereby forcing many people to flee their homes and seek refuge on higher ground.
The heavy downpour was accompanied by winds of about 175 kilometres per hour.
Rivers burst their banks and carried massive boulders with them, destroying infrastructure along the way and killing at least 350 people in Zimbabwe.
Some areas were cut off as roads and bridges were swept away, and evacuation teams had to be called in to bring marooned people to safety.
Most of Chimanimani District was only accessible by helicopter, but poor weather conditions hindered access for the first few days.
Schools, clinics and houses were also swept away and several families had to sleep in tents for quite some time before Government chipped in to avail accommodation for them at Runyararo Village, formerly West End Farm, in Chimanimani.
The impact of this disaster cannot be overstated and has continued to grip the nation’s attention for the past three years because indelible scars were created on the night of March 15th, 2019.
The Government of Zimbabwe, the private sector, corporates, non-governmental organisations and individuals have all come together to donate to the affected communities and rebuild the infrastructure that was destroyed by Cyclone Idai.
Elsewhere in this paper we publish an update on the efforts that are being made in rebuilding Chimanimani and Chipinge.
Efforts are being made to ensure that strong infrastructure that can withstand the vagaries of nature are constructed.
The Manica Post is proud to be among the corporates who have come in to rebuild Chimanimani and Chipinge.
Following President Mnangagwa’s call for corporates to chip in with assistance for Cyclone Idai victims, media giant Zimpapers, under which The Manica Post falls, built a classroom block at Chikukwa Primary School in Chimanimani.
Recently the media company also donated computers and printers to the school.
Now, the emphasis has been on building better back.
Government has reiterated that it is not just a matter of rebuilding the schools, houses or roads.
We should not aim to simply restore what was lost but to build back better, smarter and stronger infrastructure so that future hazards will not catch us flat-footed.
Considering the events of 2019, building back better should be a mandatory objective in the recovery from any disaster impact.
In fact, all new settlements across the country should meet international safety standards to mitigate against loss of lives in the event of natural disasters.
However, while almost all the affected places in Manicaland are now accessible by roads and people now have roofs over their heads, there is still a lot that needs to be done under the recovery project.
Now with a roof over their heads, the affected communities also need to be assisted to recover their means of subsistence through provision of food assistance and agricultural inputs.
Thankfully this is already being done through the Presidential Inputs Scheme and Pfumvudza and some beneficiaries are already food secure after harvesting their crops.
Government and its partners has also provided training to the beneficiaries on crop production, climate smart agriculture, agronomy and on stock feed utilisation to ensure that the people of Chimanimani and Chipinge shall always have some food on the table.
Indeed, no one and no place is being left behind as we move towards attaining Vision 2030.
