Families Evacuated as Floods Hit Harare Suburbs
Over 90 family in Harare are now homeless following the floods caused by the recent incessant rains across Zimbabwe.
Over the festive season, the country has been experiencing continuous rains, and Harare has faced some brunt of it.
The Meteorological Services Department forecasted that the country, like most Southern African countries, would experience the El Niño-induced drought.
During El Niño episodes the normal patterns of tropical rain and atmospheric circulation are disrupted, hence triggering extreme climate events like droughts, floods and affecting the intensity and frequency of hurricanes.
ALSO READ: Met Dept Warns of Heavy Rains, flash floods in Zimbabwe
At the beginning of this summer season, Zimbabwe was scotched by intense heat spells which burned all the maize people had planted when the rains poured in October and November.
Families Evacuated as Floods Hit Harare Suburbs
In some areas like Beitbridge and Kariba, temperatures smashed 40°C.
The heat spell was followed by extremely wet conditions now rampant across Zimbabwe.
The rains have been so incessant that Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume warned residents in low-lying areas like Budiriro, Hopley and Kuwadzana to swiftly evacuate their homes.
“These floods are serious. We have already lost two lives to the floods that occurred a few days ago and huge amounts of property worth thousands have been destroyed.
We have created two camps with the help of the Civil Protection Unit. The two camps are in Budiriro 2 Primary School and Kuwadzana 3 Primary School.
We encourage those living in vulnerable areas to make their way towards those camps.”
So far, over 90 families are now homeless owing to the floods ravaging Harare.
In a video circulating online, one family had their home flooding as the water was reaching the knees and seeping into permeable furniture like sofa.
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