Thunderstorm leaves family without shelter

Own Reporter

A thunderstorm that hit Masvingo on Monday afternoon left a family in Runyararo West in the open and most of its household property extensively damaged after blowing off the roof to the family house.
Posting a picture of the damaged house in Runyararo West near the Jairos Jiri Cemetery on social media, the owner said her family had been left homeless after the roof of the house was blown off during the two-hour storm, which also left the Ancient City without power until Tuesday morning.
The storm started around 2pm and lasted up to 4pm, immediately overwhelming storm water drains leading to flooding of streets and some offices in downtown Masvingo while Mucheke River which cuts across the city and some of its tributaries became swollen.
Some part of city remained without power into Wednesday while the whole city woke up to dry taps on Tuesday due to an electric fault at the city’s water pumping plant, Bushmed Waterworks which sits on the banks of Mutirikwi Dam.
It was however, not clear whether the fault at the plant was related to the storm. Water had been restored to the city centre and some residential areas on Wednesday. The city council confirmed the restoration of water but warned that those in high lying areas were likely to experience low pressure due to the continuous power outages being experienced.
The Meteorological Services Department (MSD) put the rainfall in Masvingo at 31mm and nearby Makoholi at 27mm and warned of isolated thunderstorms in Matabeleland North, South and Masvingo provinces.
However, the MSD has warned that the light showers did not signify the start of the rainy season with the head, James Ngoma, saying: “The rains are still isolated and farmers cannot start planting now as some areas have not even received a drop.”
Meanwhile the Department of Civil Protection Unit (DCPU) says it requires about $13 billion to respond adequately to weather-related hazards this year.
DCPU director, Nathan Nkomo, said the unit had crafted a strategy to be presented to Cabinet detailing how rain-related disasters would be handled.