By Tadiwa Shunje
MASVINGO — Demand for window glass has surged in Masvingo following the October 5 hailstorm which damaged thousands of homes across the city, leaving residents queuing for hours to replace broken panes.
The demand became noticeable on the morning of October 6, 2026, when residents whose windows were damaged flocked to Webglass and Ally-Tar-Tim Hardware to buy and have replacement glass cut.
At Webglass, customers crowded the premises, with some waiting outside because there was little space inside the shop as workers struggled to attend to the high number of customers.
Some residents paid for their glass before joining queues to have the panes cut, while others remained in long lines waiting for an opportunity to enter the shop and make their payments.
By Wednesday morning, residents had already started queuing at the glass shops in an effort to secure the limited supplies.
Some customers said they were worried that they would spend the whole day waiting only to leave without receiving their glass.
One resident, who said four windows at her home had been damaged, appealed to Webglass to extend its closing time so that customers could collect their glass.
“Webglass should consider extending its closing time so that we can go home with our glass. Almost four of my windows were damaged. How am I supposed to sleep in that room without a window? What if it rains again and I still do not have the glass? I will not be able to sleep because I will spend the whole night wiping water that comes into the house through the broken windows,” she said.
She said she had spent hours waiting in the queue without even getting an opportunity to enter the shop and make her payment.
“I have been here since 11am and it is now 3pm, but I have not even managed to pay for the glass. I cannot get into the shop because of the long queue. I am still waiting outside while the shop is already full of people. At this point, I am not even sure whether I will get a chance to buy the glass today,” she said.
Other residents were seen moving from one shop to another in search of glass, hoping to find supplies before they ran out.
Glass was mainly available at Webglass, Ally-Tar-Tim Hardware and some outlets at Mucheke Rank, leaving the few suppliers struggling to meet the sudden demand.
The storm also triggered demand for other building materials, including black plastic sheeting, nails and roofing sheets, as residents sought to repair or temporarily cover damaged sections of their homes.
Some roofing sheets at Chevron Hotel were also blown away during the hailstorm, adding to the demand for roofing materials.Residents whose roofs were damaged were turning to black plastic sheeting as a temporary measure to protect their homes while waiting to obtain roofing materials.
Despite the high demand, Webglass and Ally-Tar-Tim Hardware had not increased the prices of their glass as of October 6, 2026.The demand for building materials follows the hailstorm that hit Masvingo on October 5, with about 13 500 households recorded as affected.
The damage has left residents racing to repair broken windows, roofs and other parts of their homes before further rains.
