Melinda Kusemachibi
As Chipinge and Chimanimani districts have already experienced strong winds together with heavy rains associated with Tropical Storm Ana, the destruction is relatively mild compared to previous catastrophes, officials in the districts have said.
In an interview, Chimanimani DDC Joseph Manyurapasi said the whole district has received heavy rains but reports of devastating destruction have been generally few.
“The whole district has been affected and we cannot specify which area since we have not yet marked. A few households in Chimanimani Urban ward 15, ward 14 in Machongwe area and ward 13 in Nyawa area have been affected and their houses were destroyed especially the rooftops,” said Manyurapasi.
He said they have established 86 evacuation centers in case of emergency.
“We have established 86 evacuation centers. In every ward there are one or more evacuation centers.
So far no people have been evacuated.
“We were doing projects for places affected by cyclone Idai that will be affected again by tropical storm Ana, but as soon as the weather allows us, we will resume our projects,” he added.
Chipinge DDC William Mashava said the district suffered only the after effects of the storm though no casualties were recorded.
“We only suffered the cyclone after effects and there were no fatal casualties but we have reports of one house which got destroyed. We also have 39 evacuation centres which are already set up throughout the district,” said Mashava.
In March 2019 the districts were extensively hit by Cyclone Idai which destroyed lives and left many people homeless, with some still not accounted for to date.
Cyclones, floods, heat waves and droughts have been attributed to the manifestation of climate change.
In a notice this week, the Meteorological Services Department (MSD) warned that heavy rains might affect Manicaland and Masvingo provinces for four days, and urged people to secure loose items, including roofs, and to stay on high ground.
As at January 25, the storm had killed three people and injured 49 in Mozambique while the United Nations forecasted that around 500 000 people in that country may be affected by the tropical storm.
In Madagascar, the tropical storm, characterized by heavy rains, flooding and mudslides, has already killed about 34 people on the island.
Zimbabwe is already on high alert as parts of Manicaland province have already experienced the strong tropical winds that could be effects of tropical depression from Tropical Storm Ana.
