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Mukudzei Chingwere

Herald Reporter

Chitungwiza Municipality is today expected to hold an emergency meeting to map a way forward following heavy rains that pounded the town yesterday, causing flooding in some low-lying areas and wetlands.

Some commercial buildings and houses in areas such as Zengeza 4, Chikwanha, Units L, K and N were badly affected by the flooding as some were partially submerged.

The heavy downpour also damaged public infrastructure, leaving several residents stranded.

Chitungwiza Town Council spokesperson Mr Lovemore Meya last night said an emergency meeting had been called to find ways of addressing the situation.

“We called for a meeting to map a way forward following the damage caused by the heavy rains this afternoon and the meeting is scheduled for tomorrow (today).

Families were left stranded and property destroyed following heavy rains that pounded Chitungwiza yesterday

“When there are natural disasters like these, we call a meeting and map a way forward as well as deploy resources to address the situation,” said Mr Meya.

A bridge leading to Nyatsime suburb was reported to be impassable, cutting off residents from the rest of the town and a motorist who attempted to cross the flooded Duri stream had his car swept away and was lucky to escape with no injuries.

Some homes built on wetlands were flooded to window level, and household property worth thousands of dollars was destroyed.

Government has repeatedly warned people against building houses on wetlands, citing the risk posed by potential flooding.

However, some corrupt Chitungwiza council officials and land barons have continued parcelling out stands in undesignated areas.

Council has since indicated that it will demolish at least 11 000 houses that were built on illegally allocated land.