Mutare (New Ziana) – Manicaland Province, expected to be the epicentre of the impending tropical cyclone Freddy, has put in place elaborate safety measures to safeguard lives and property, and avoid a repeat of heavy losses suffered in similar, past disasters.
The cyclone, which has made landfall in Mozambique, is expected to hit parts of Zimbabwe on Friday, centred around Manicaland Province due to its close proximity to the neighbouring country.
In past cyclones, Manicaland Province suffered the most in terms of loss of lives, and property, and is always most edgy whenever a tropical storm is forecast.
In cyclone Freddy’s wake, five provinces – Masvingo, Manicaland, Mashonaland East, Harare Metropolitan and Mashonaland Central – have been placed on alert, but much precautionary focus is on Manicaland.
The government has ordered schools in all the five provinces to be shut on Friday as part of safety measures against the cyclone.
In interviews with New Ziana, officials in Manicaland province handling precautionary preparations, said elaborate safety measures had been drawn and set up, including forming a number of disaster response teams, and evacuation centres where people would be transferred to if threatened.
In Chipinge district, which suffered the most when Cyclone Idai struck the country a few years ago, officials said several disaster response teams were in place, fully equipped.
“We have activated the district civil protection committee and we have established a command centre at the district development coordinator’s boardroom. Each ward has a readily available evacuation centre, schools which can also be used as command centres due to the safe and secure environment,” the district’s development co-ordinator, William Mashava, said.
Among the evacuation centres in the district are Manzvire, Kondo and Stage 3A Tongogara Camp.
Mashava said the district had been given a sneak peak of what to expect after strong winds hit much of the region last week.
“The district experienced very strong winds on Tuesday, blowing off a number of rooftops and destroying maize crops in Ward 10. Livestock was also lost in the process, but thankfully no human life was affected. This, however, came as a wakeup call to the coming storm that is expected to affect the country,” he said.
Eight households had their roofs blown off in Chinyamukwakwa area, and seven cows were struck by lightning in Ward 27 of the district.
Farmers in Ward 10 were also left counting their losses after their maize crop was blown away by the strong winds.
In the provincial capital, Mutare, city authorities have called on residents to be on high alert and take precautionary measures to ensure safety.
In a notice to the public, they urged residents to keep checking weather updates, and heed warnings whenever given by authorities.
“Mutare residents should be on high alert of Cyclone Freddy which is already causing threats to Mozambique and Zimbabwe. All residents in low lying areas should constantly monitor the situation as the possibilities of flooding are very high,” city authorities said.
The city has also established evacuation centers in the event of flooding, especially in low lying areas.
Cyclone Freddy is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds to Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe between February 25 and March 3.
Already, it has claimed lives and destroyed homes and public infrastructure in Madagascar where it originated from days ago.
New Ziana
