Rains kill 2, destroy schools

13 Jan, 2023 - 00:01 0 Views
Rains kill 2, destroy schools he MSD advised people in the affected areas to stay indoors or seek shelter in earthed buildings

The ManicaPost

 

Samuel Kadangure and Tendai Gukutikwa

THE torrential rains experienced last week left two people dead and destroyed property in five districts in the province.

The rains which were experienced in most parts of the province as forecasted by the Meteorological Services Department (MSD), have also raised hopes for a better agricultural season.

Tragic incidents were recorded in Mutasa, where one person drowned while attempting to cross a flooded river and Mutare Rural where a victim and six cattle were struck by lightning.

The nine-year-old boy who was struck by lightning and died on the spot over the weekend.

The rains also destroyed infrastructure like schools, houses and ablution facilities in Buhera, Chipinge, Chimanimani and Mutasa districts.

Ministry of Local Government and Public Works’ communication and advocacy director, Mr Gabriel Masvora said six deaths across the country, two of them in Manicaland, were recorded during the period in question.

“ One person drowned while attempting to cross a flooded river, while a boy was struck by lightning in Mutare Rural. Four beasts were also struck by lightning in Charamba Village (Mutare Rural) and two at Rusitu Dairy Scheme in Chipinge respectively,” said Mr Masvora.

Mr Masvora said it was worrisome that a number of schools were damaged by the rains and strong winds at a time when the first term of 2023 was starting.

A number of houses were also affected by flooding, particularly in poor drainage and low lying areas.

Mr Masvora said a classroom block had its roof destroyed by heavy rains at Mushakavanhu Primary School in Chipinge.

Strong winds experienced in Buhera blew off the roof of a classroom block at Mudanda Primary School in Ward 14.

The strong winds also destroyed the roofs of four Government houses at the adjacent Mudanda Business Centre.

At Moyoweshumba Secondary School in Mutasa, strong winds destroyed a 10-squat hole toilet block.

“At Mukamba Primary School one classroom block had its roof blown off, while at Tongogara Refugee Camp one house was damaged. In Ward 15 in Buhera an Agritex house and Headman Murambinda’s house were damaged, while six houses had their roofs blown off in Ward Four. In Chimanimani’s Mudariki Village, three houses had roofs blown off,” said Mr Masvora.

Mr Masvora said members of the public should stay informed about the weather through daily forecast, 10-day bulletins and seasonal forecast updates via the official MSD platforms.

Manicaland Provincial Civil Protection Unit chairperson, Mr Edgars Seenza urged the public to continue taking heed of weather reports and forecast as well as advisories issued by the Meteorological Services Department (MSD) and the Department of Civil Protection respectively.

He urged citizens to guard against complacency in light of the Termination of Alert issued recently.

“The province did not have large scale disasters at all during the period between Friday and Sunday when heavy rains pounded some parts of Manicaland.

“The two tragic incidents involved a lightning and drowning in Mutasa are regrettable. No worrisome catastrophes were recorded. We certainly hope that the torrential rains will cause no further damage if they continue,” said Mr Seenza.

The MSD had forecasted localised heavy rains in excess of 50mm and flash flooding in areas with saturated soils, wetlands and along river basins in parts of Manicaland, Masvingo and Midlands provinces.

To ensure the safety of people in the event of natural disasters in Manicaland, Government recently constructed Nyabamba and Manzvire evacuation centres in Chimanimani and Chipinge districts respectively.

Mr Seenza said the development will help reduce over-dependency on available infrastructure since Government is discouraging the use of schools as evacuation centres as this disrupts learning activities.

He said while the province is a high risk province in terms of natural disasters, it has limited evacuation centres and more need to be built.

Mr Seenza said Government is working tirelessly to ensure that proper evacuation centres are established across the province.

“At the moment, we have two recently completed evacuation centres at Nyabamba and Manzvire. These will help reduce the burden on public institutions in times of disasters. While they are adequate and compliment the ones that we had already put in place after the Cyclone Idai disaster in 2019, they are far from being enough for the whole province.

“We need to construct more and in order to fill that gap, we tasked district civil protection committees to approach churches and schools during holidays to convert their buildings into evacuation centres once disaster strikes,” he said.

Mr Seenza said the development will strengthen the province’s civil protection mechanisms.

He, however, said Government discourages the use of schools as evacuation centres.

“Schools should be used as evacuation centres as a last option because we do not want to disrupt learning activities. We can use them during school holidays, but once schools open, it becomes difficult. Government is highly discouraging that,” he said.

Recently, a development partner, Terres Des Hommes (TDH) Italia, with funding support from the European Union, complimented Government’s efforts and constructed three evacuation centres at Tongogara Refugee Camp and Kondo in Chipinge and another one at Bumba in Chimanimani.

Two warehouses were also established in both districts.

In an interview, TDH Italia’s advocacy and communications officer, Mr Tanaka Chitsa said the development will go a long way in strengthening the local communities’ capacity for disaster preparedness and reduce logistics costs through planning and timeous response.

He said the evacuation centres will minimise challenges faced during evacuation and also enhance emergency responses.

 

 

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